


Hunger for the Absolute

by ObsidionWingsofMidnight



Series: Lawlu Fairy Tale AU's [4]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Arthurian, Camelot, Don't Kill Me, Fake Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship, I did not stick it in a series called lawlu fairy tales just to make law end up with someone else, I'll get to it eventually, IT'S IN THE PAST OKAY, M/M, Memory Loss, Past Doflamingo/Law - Freeform, SO IT'S PROBABLY GONNA TAKE A WHILE, Slow Burn, You Have Been Warned, arthurian legend counts as fairy tales right????, but also kind of guinevere, devil fruit does not exist in this au, i mean it has the fay so that counts, i'll probably make a new summary later, i'm serious it takes me like five months to update each fic, in terms of devil fruit, it's complicated lol, law is merlin, listen i gotta lot of fics to update and i don't write that fast, listen i'm just going with it, luffy is king arthur, magic exists and it has rules but i don't know what they all are yet lol, no clear update schedule we die like men, slowest of updates also, so don't panic if it's been a month and i haven't updated this specific fic, sorry rubber boi doesn't get to be rubber, the slowest of burns, we'll see, when is it not
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:47:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 29,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22125073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObsidionWingsofMidnight/pseuds/ObsidionWingsofMidnight
Summary: When Law woke up from his 500 year slumber, he sure as hell wasn't expecting to get a husband out of it.
Relationships: Donquixote Doflamingo/Trafalgar D. Water Law, Monkey D. Luffy/Trafalgar D. Water Law, Trafalgar D. Water Lammy & Trafalgar D. Water Law
Series: Lawlu Fairy Tale AU's [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1498736
Comments: 27
Kudos: 130





	1. The Finite You Know You Fear is Infinite

**Author's Note:**

> _hope made wise by dread begins again_   
>  _\- Inauguration Day by Frank Bidart_

Law blinked blearily up at his sister, her smiling face swimming slowly into focus. Her pale hair created a brilliant halo in the water as sunlight reflected off of it through the surface of the lake. She stroked a hand down the side of his face and leaned in close to better inspect him. 

“Oh, Law! Luffy is going to be thrilled to see you!” she cheered, smile nearly blinding. 

Which was all well and fine, and he was pleased she was so happy, but he wasn’t sure he heard her correctly. 

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling alright? Do you still need to sleep?” she asked, frowning at the expression on his face. 

He waved away her concerns, forcing a smile- although it probably looked more like a grimace. “No, I feel fine. I’m done sleeping,” he assured her. “But who the hell is Luffy?” he asked. 

She froze at that, staring at him with wide eyes, and he had to wonder just how important was this Luffy person that they made her look at him that way. Were they important or something? He couldn’t recall ever hearing that name, but it had been a long time since he’d been fully awake. 

A moment later she seemed to snap out of her stupor. 

“Oh dear,” she said quietly, turning her eyes skyward to the surface of the lake. Not a good sign for Law. 

* * *

About ten minutes later, he was found staring at her in shock. All that she had told him…. It was unreal. But she had no reason to lie to him, so he had no reason not to believe her. Other than the fact that it simply sounded ludicrous. 

The sound of voices and stamping hooves and many feet approaching the edge of the lake interrupted their reunion, and both of them turned in the direction the noise was coming from. Law sat frozen, not comprehending what was happening. He’d just gotten a fuckton of information loaded onto him, and it was going to take him a while to process all of it. 

Lami turned to him apologetically. “That will be Luffy, for sure. And others obviously, but I’m not sure which ones. I should go talk to them. Try and…explain things,” she said. She moved away from him towards the surface, grabbing the sword that lay next to him as she passed. Excalibur’s blade glowed eerily in the water, although non magic folk wouldn’t be able to see that it was no glow at all- in fact it was the opposite. Excalibur was more of a void than anything else, sucking in all light and magic, a tear in the fabric of the world. 

He nearly reached out to take it from her, but held back at the last moment. 

Law had created the sword, but it no longer belonged to him. Had never really belonged to him in the first place. He’d made sure of that. 

He crept closer to the shore, so he could listen to the conversation between Lami and the king of Camelot. 

“What do you mean he doesn’t remember anything?” the young man asked loudly. His hair was black, and his eyes as well, but they contained a warmth in them so unlike any other Law had ever seen in those that shared the eye color. He was dressed rather plainly in an open red jacket and black trousers. Even stranger was the straw hat fixed upon his head. The only thing that might denote he was more than a commoner was the sash of golden yellow silk around his waist. He sat astride a tall reindeer with keen eyes, and the two of them were gaping at his sister in disbelief. 

Lami sighed, holding out Excalibur as if pleading for him to take it as she replied, “Just as I said. He doesn’t remember waking up last time. He knows nothing of the last two years.” 

One of the knights surrounding the king walked forward, taking only a few steps into the lake to retrieve the sword. He looked a little more like Law imagined a knight ought to- there was a sturdy grace in which he held himself, and the firm blankness of his expression was much like Law remembered in warriors of old. The only thing that belied this calm appearance was a light crease in his brow. The vibrant green shade of his hair was enough to make Law question if he had any fay blood in him, but he could sense nothing of the sort when he reached out. 

He watched carefully as the knight carried the sword back to his king, noting the way his steps were almost painstakingly slow and how his breathing grew labored even though it was only a matter of feet between Lami and the king. He was not the one meant to wield Excalibur, and the sword knew it. 

The king took the blade from the green haired knight’s hands, frowning at it as if it had caused all his problems. For all Law knew, it could have. Apparently, he’d missed a lot in the last couple years. Or rather, he’d been a part of it, but didn’t remember any of it. 

The last time he remembered seeing Excalibur had been over five hundred years ago. That was actually where all his memories ended, aside from a few blurry recollections of Lami waking him periodically to check on him. 

According to her, he’d been very busy for a brief time span, two years ago. 

It was all very surreal for him. 

Back on the shore, the king- or Luffy, as Lami called him- was throwing a hissy fit. His retinue looked nervous, but their fear was not directed at their sovereign. No, they were all casting furtive glances as the lake instead. 

“Where is he? This is all just a joke, right? He has to remember! Torao? Torao, come out here!” he shouted, leaping from the reindeer’s back and stomping towards the bank. 

Lami sighed again, turning slightly to look at him through the surface. Mortal eyes could not penetrate the lake, but her life force was tied directly to it, and it held no secrets from her. “He means you, Law,” she said, giving him an exasperated look. 

Then it was his turn to look incredulously at her. What the hell kind of name was Torao? It sounded idiotic, and in no way similar to his name. No, he was not going to answer to such a stupid sounding epithet, and he certainly wasn’t going to come crawling out just because some royal brat he didn’t even remember was demanding it. 

A flash of silver whipped past him, grazing his cheek. The wound was slight, but it left a burning sensation in its wake. 

“ _Luffy_!” his sister’s scandalized gasp brought him back into focus. 

“I don’t want Excalibur! I vowed that I would only take it back when Torao returned to my side! If he’s not coming out, then he can keep it!” 

_That little shit_. He threw Excalibur at him! Well, okay, he probably hadn’t been aiming at Law since he couldn’t see beneath the lake’s surface, but he had still thrown his extremely dangerous, one of a kind sword, into the fucking lake! He could have taken Law’s head off! 

That was the last straw. 

Lami grimaced as the once tranquil lake’s surface roiled, and the sky darkened with thunder clouds. Law had a way of changing the environment when he lost his temper. 

He summoned Excalibur to his side, and threw it back out of the water to pierce the trunk of the tree closest to the king’s head, a petty part of him enjoying the looks of horror on the faces of those on shore. And with a heaving breath, he surged from beneath the surface of the lake to glower at them, golden eyes glinting menacingly in the disappearing sunlight. 

“How dare you throw Excalibur at me! You could have fucking killed me!” he seethed, wiping futilely at the steaming cut on his cheek. It was a minor wound, but coming from Excalibur, it would take days to heal instead of the seconds it would normally take from any other sword. 

He whirled around to address his sister, jabbing a finger in the direction of the king. “There is no way that brat is the rightful king of Camelot! Something clearly went wrong! I must have made a mistake when I cast the enchantment on it, or it weakened with time! I’ll go stick it back in that damn stone, and try again!” 

She looked at him with fond exasperation. “That’s what you said the first time too,” she said with a sad little smile. 

That paused him in his tracks, anger abruptly vanishing at the reminder of all that he had apparently lost. 

She stepped closer to take his hands as the waves ceased, and the sky stopped rumbling. “Law, I know this is hard for you to accept, but Luffy really is the one who pulled Excalibur from the stone, and it wasn’t a mistake. You went with him last time to see if he was really the true king, and he proved his worth. You were very sure of that when you returned from your journey to finish your long slumber.” 

He wanted to tell her that she was wrong, that there was no way that any of that had happened, but he knew deep down that what she said was true. Even though he had created the sword and the enchantment upon it half a millennium ago, he knew that the magic within it would never fade. Even though he’d been half dead when he did the magic, he’d made sure it was secure. The sword after all, was the last great defense he had made against his nemesis. 

Luffy was the rightful king of Camelot. 

His last hope was in the hands of a man that threw tantrums and called him stupid names. 

He held back a sigh, and let Lami brush a hand against his cheek where the cut from Excalibur still burned. “Maybe if I try a memory charm, that will help bring back what you’ve forgotten,” she said, a pensive crease appearing between her brows. For some reason, the idea of letting her do so made his stomach churn, but he did not refuse her. After all, if it worked then all his troubles would be solved. If not, well, what’s the worst that could happen? 

He bent down a bit so her hands could more easily reach his head. Everyone waited with baited breath as she bit into her thumb so that a small dot of blood welled up at the tip, using it as payment to weave a sigil for remembrance in the air. Magic always came at a price, after all. A drop of blood was a small price however, and one she was more than willing to pay. She pushed the glowing sigil gently into the center of Law’s forehead, so that it created a dim imprint on his skin. 

It took less than a second for her to realize what a terrible idea it was. 

A bloodcurdling scream ripped from Law’s throat, and he crumpled to her feet, eyes flashing with unnatural light as his body trembled, parts of his form losing their usual solidity and streaming from him in gushes of water. Waves rose up around them, high, taller than even the trees surrounding the lake, and lightning crashed across the sky. Shouts of terror echoed across the lake. 

“Law!” she cried, forcing a barrier around them so she would be unimpeded by the turmoil around the pair. Quickly, she brushed his hands away from where they clutched his head, and swept the sigil of remembrance from his skin. 

Immediately, he collapsed into her arms, and she was swift to comfort him. She murmured apologies into his hair, stroking her hand down his back as he clutched to her desperately. His breaths came in great heaving gasps, and his eyes were still wild as though he saw monsters around them that weren’t there. But the skies cleared, and the waters stilled. 

“It’s not safe,” he gasped, “We have to go. We have to hide before he finds us! He’ll never stop, he can’t be sated- the all consuming hunger-” 

Tears pricked her eyes, and she ignored the worried murmurs from the shore. “No, Law. We’re safe here. He can’t reach us- he can’t hurt us anymore. You made sure of that,” she said soothingly. “The borders of Camelot protect us. Besides, no one’s heard of him for hundreds of years. Do you remember when I told you that?” she asked, suddenly frightened that her attempt to bring back his memories had backfired and took more of them away. 

Fortunately, that did not seem to be the case because after a few harrowing seconds of uncertainty, he nodded his head and mumbled that yes, he did remember that now. 

She said a silent prayer of thanks to the ancestors and held him close. 

It took her another moment to realize she was not alone. Luffy and some of his most trusted knights, who had met Law the first time he woke two years ago, were gathered next to them. All of them showed varying degrees of distress on their faces, and it was those expressions that kept her from snapping at them to stay back. It wasn’t their fault after all- nobody had expected this outcome, not even her. 

Law overextended himself last time he woke up, but she didn’t think it would result in the loss of his memories. 

Honestly, he wasn’t even supposed to wake up in the first place, but she had disrupted his magical slumber to introduce him to the true king of Camelot. Which had been a whole other ordeal. 

See, when Law first created Excalibur and stuck it in the stone, he hadn’t intended for it to gain so much notoriety. And he certainly hadn’t intended for it to remain there for so long. The fact that nobody worthy had come along for five hundred years was tragic. But that’s how long it took. And during that time, many had tried and failed to retrieve the sword, and when they found their efforts futile they turned to the only other notable source of magic in the land- the lake. 

Being the only two major magical sources in the kingdom, people naturally assumed that Excalibur and the Lady in the Lake were connected. Which wasn’t entirely wrong, but they weren’t connected in the way people thought they were. 

This led to many men marching up to the lake and demanding she deem them worthy to wield the sword and help them claim the throne. It was funny at first that they thought she could do that, but after the hundredth time it just became tedious. 

She tried everything to get them to stop. She flat out told them that it wasn’t within her power, and if they weren’t worthy then maybe they should work to improve themselves until they were. No luck. She tried throwing streams of water in their faces to shut them up, but it only deterred them for so long. Eventually, she resorted to throwing magical tantrums that made the waters of the lake churn and the ground quake beneath their feet. That was the most effective, and after the first few times, no one bothered her for another two hundred years. 

Still, when a curious soul approached the lake with a question that had nothing to do about her pledging her service to them, she would answer. And because she had nothing better to do, she would sometimes ask them if anyone worthy had removed the sword yet. The answer was always no, but word spread that should anyone actually succeed, they should go to the Lady of the Lake right away. 

And that was how she met the first true and worthy king to come along. 

Monkey D. Luffy was certainly a force to be reckoned with, but he was nothing like any of the other kings to show up on her shore. He and his motley crew of mismatched knights arrived carrying Excalibur and their own humble offerings for her. 

She was so surprised to see the sword, she’d almost forgotten what it looked like. But there it was, the words, “May the True King Wield Me Well,” inscribed on it and everything. She cleared the permanent fog she cast around the lake to speak to them better, and they all looked mystified by the act. Or maybe they were just impressed to see the sun shine on the lake in a way that it hadn’t in centuries. 

Whatever the case was, she had approached them with a smile and the first fluttering of hope that she had felt in years. 

They seemed a little confused that she didn’t have their destinies written out for them, but also a little relieved. Which was good, because she sure wasn’t going to start writing up prophecies now. She congratulated them, and explained as well as she could that a lot of the hubbub about the sword and the lake was a misunderstanding. 

That did bring their spirits down a little bit- well, Luffy’s companions anyway- he didn’t seem to mind. But some of his knights were more hesitant about how they were going to proceed overthrowing the current and rather awful king without divine intervention. They honestly hadn’t considered that she wouldn’t help them. 

And it’s not like she didn’t want to, but she was tied very firmly to the lake. She could not go far from it, or she would weaken drastically. It was what kept her alive after her brush with death all those years ago, but it did have its downsides. 

She had another idea of how to help them, however. Whether or not it would work was a different matter. 

She woke up Law to tell him the great news. He had blinked up at her uncomprehending for a few moments, having not been woken in about sixty odd years or so, but he was pleased to hear it. He was less pleased to hear that they were asking for his help to overthrow the current king, but she talked him into a trial period. If he decided Luffy was unworthy after all, he could take the sword back and go back to sleep until it was truly time for him to wake. 

He agreed to the arrangement reluctantly, but it had turned out all right in the end. 

With Law’s help, Luffy and his company took the kingdom back for the common folk, in a tale that instantly bought legendary status. It had come at a price though, of course. 

Law needed to return to sleep immediately after the final battle was over, and didn’t even have time to celebrate. Luffy was distraught, but was forced to admit that it was necessary. Law shouldn’t have been awake and using magic in the first place, and in doing so had drained a lot of energy. He probably would have been more or less fine if his magically required slumber was over, but as it was, he was nearly spent. 

The last few days were especially hard on him, since he came into contact with a wizard that cursed him to age at an alarming rate. By the time the battle had started, he had withered into an ancient, fragile man with aching bones and wrinkled hands. If he’d been at full power, he could have brushed off the curse with a little work, but spending so much time away from the lake and against the payment for his last magical reckoning, there was little he could do to combat it. 

So as soon as he could, he returned to the lake and laid back down to recover from the experience. 

He knew Lami would keep careful watch over him, and that Camelot would be in good hands, and settled down for some well deserved rest. 

Luffy on the other hand, was greatly displeased to lose his new companion, but Lami assured him that Law would wake again someday. All the magic he used that lifetime ago required a large payment from Law, but she thought it must nearly be over. Five hundred years of sleep was a steep price, and she didn’t think Law could have left the lake and helped them so much if the payment wasn’t almost complete. 

She promised him that she would let him know as soon as Law was awake, which he took to heart and thanked her profusely for. He also gave Excalibur to her, saying that he would come back for it when Law returned to his side. He insisted quite fiercely about it, not taking no for an answer from her or any of his advisors. 

A little part of her suspected that he didn’t want to have something so intrinsically tied to Law when he couldn’t have Law himself. 

Thus, two years passed, and Camelot progressed in leaps and bounds, becoming kingdom coveted by all. Luffy and company created a golden age of sorts, even though there was no real prophecy involved. They built a new castle for the king to live in right beside the lake, so he would never be far. This resulted in a lot of rumors that he was in love with the Lady of the Lake, but they just brushed them off. And every day he would go down to the lake and check on Law’s status. 

The answer was always the same: Law slept, but at least he was back to looking like his usual younger self. Sometimes Luffy got a little irritated that the process was taking so long, and his advisors occasionally had to reprimand him for spending so much time at the waterside when there were other things to be taken care of. 

She knew how badly he’d want to know if ever Law woke when he wasn’t there though, so she promised that the moment her brother did wake up, she’d clear all the fog from the lake and let it shine as it had the first day he appeared at its banks. 

And that day had finally come two years after that fateful meeting. 

The only problem was that apparently the day sucked. Big time. 

When Law first stirred from his dreamless sleep, she had been ecstatic. She had been quick to clear the fog from atop the lake as she promised Luffy, and had been eager to reunite her brother with the king. But then Law had to go and ruin it all by opening his mouth and admitting that he didn’t know what she was talking about. 

And now here they were, huddled together and more lost than ever. 

Well, it simply wouldn’t do. 

She gathered her wits about her and straightened up. Law was finally back to normal, if a bit exhausted. He looked wearily up at her as she hauled him to his feet. “I hate to say it after you’ve slept for so long, but you need to rest,” she told him. “Luffy, you still kept rooms for him in your castle, right?” she asked, turning to the king. 

He opened his mouth, but it was one of his knights who answered. “Yeah, we built his rooms so they connected to Luffy’s. No one’s touched them since, except to clean them,” he said. He was an odd one, with his turquoise hair and strange metallic body parts. But over the time since they built the palace, she had come to trust all of Luffy’s inner circle of knights. And if he said Law had rooms ready and waiting for him, then she believed him. 

“Right then, you’ll have to show us the way. Don’t argue with me, Law, you won’t dissuade me from this. You need rest, and you need to get reacquainted with Luffy and his knights. This is the best way to do that. You’ve spent plenty of time on the bottom of the lake, it won’t kill you to spend some time out of it for a change.” 

He huffed at her in annoyance, but she merely brushed it off. If he was annoyed it was a good sign that he was back to his usual grumpy self. 

* * *

Law’s arrival in the palace was something of a commotion to those who had never seen him before. People from all over the castle scurried to and fro to get a glimpse of him and Lami. The vast majority of them were astonished to see them walking with the king, although he was surprised to hear how many of them thought the king had gone to the lake to fetch his sister instead of him. There were a lot of whispers about how he was madly in love with her, having visited her nearly every day since he ascended the throne. 

He didn’t know what to think about that, but Lami had never mentioned the king being in love with her, and he supposed it was none of his business who she decided to have a relationship with. 

The king did seem unusually invested in keeping Law around, so it would make sense if he was trying to get in Lami’s good graces by being nice to her brother. He would have preferred being in the lake to being paraded around for a bunch of strangers to gawp at though. Oh well. There was little he could do about it at the moment. If he so much as moved a hair out of line, Lami would throttle him. And he absolutely did not have the energy to deal with that, so he let them drag him upstairs to his new lodgings without complaint. 

The rooms were surprisingly nice. Spacious, comfortable, clean… He really couldn’t complain about them. Not that he felt up to it anyway. As soon as he saw the large four poster bed he made a beeline towards it and collapsed into its numerous coverings. He was out before his head even hit one of the six pillows atop it. 

Lami shook her head at his behavior, marveling at how easily he could still fall asleep after spending hundreds of years doing nothing else. Even after the events of that morning, you’d think he’d had enough of it. 

She took one of the extra blankets placed at the end of the bed and drew it over him. They could discuss plans for the future when he recovered. In the meantime, it looked like she and Luffy’s entourage needed to have a long conversation about what to expect from Law with this new hitch in their original plan. 

* * *

“How are we supposed to protect Camelot from magical attacks when the most powerful magical being in the kingdom is useless to us?” 

“Law isn’t useless,” Lami snapped, glaring at the rest of the table as if to dare them to refute her. 

Robin held out a placating hand to her. “Of course not. What Sanji means to say, is that we’re unsure of how to proceed when Torao is no longer familiar with us. Your brother is a good man, but his loyalty is hard earned, and I’m not sure how long it will take us to earn it back.” 

Her words brought out grunts of confirmation from most of the others. Luffy was unusually silent. 

“Are you sure there’s nothing we can do to get his memories back?” Usopp piped up. 

“You saw what happened back at the lake. Even if I tried a different method, the results would likely be the same. We could try again, but I’m not willing to put him through that. Especially when, as you said, he has no particular loyalty to you. If we force him into it and it fails, you will lose his trust for good. Better, I think, to earn it back the hard way,” she replied evenly. Although the memory of Law falling apart in her hands was still fresh enough to bring tears to her eyes. 

“So what, we’re just supposed to hang around him and hope he tolerates us?” Zoro asked. He and Law had an odd relationship before, where they either ignored the other’s existence or talked as rude as possible to each other, but were, by all accounts, good friends. Zoro didn’t express it as often or as loudly as Luffy did, but he had missed the grumpy fay as well. 

Nobody at the table seemed to like this idea if the scowls on their faces were anything to go by. 

“Do you think if we brought him on another battle campaign it would help? I mean, that’s what we did last time. Nothing like life or death situations to bring people closer together, huh?” Usopp asked reluctantly. He was clearly grasping at straws, but wasn’t like anyone else was making suggestions. 

Nami smacked him upside the head. “Don’t be stupid. We don’t have any battle campaigns to run anyway. Not unless we want to start a war with one of the other kingdoms- _which we don’t_ ,” she added sternly at the thoughtful looks on some of the men’s faces. 

“I’m afraid Lami is right,” Robin said. “The best thing we can do right now is reintroduce ourselves to him and try to reform our bonds naturally. Think of it this way- without the constant danger looming over us, we might actually get to figure out what Torao’s like when he’s relaxed. Isn’t that something we all wanted to see?” They all grumbled their agreement. It was true that they’d been curious about it, since their entire knowledge of him before had been as a prickly hardass. Of course, there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t be a prickly hardass regardless of the peace, but it was better than nothing. 

“What I don’t get is why he lost his memories in the first place,” Franky said, surprisingly thoughtful. “I know magic comes at a price, and he did a lot for us back then, but his memories? For that whole time period? Is that normal?” he asked, turning to Lami. 

She shook her head. “No. This shouldn’t have happened. Usually memories are only taken as the price for other memories. Like if I tried to erase your memories of yesterday, I would end up losing a memory of my own. But Law would have to have changed either a very long recollection or a very large amount of them to lose so much. And even if he had, he would have warned someone that he was likely to be missing a sizeable chunk of his memories.” 

“And it really never happens as payment for other types of magic?” Nami asked. She had taken out one of her cartography tools to measure distance and was using it to stab tiny holes in the table. 

Lami sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day. “Not that I’ve heard of. Usually when we use magic, the most common form of payment is in energy. Or physical loss.” 

“You mean like the blood you used at the lake,” Chopper supplied. Like Lami he was fay, but of a different sort. He had transformed into his smaller shape, sitting on top of a pile of cushions so he could see over the table from his chair. While he may have more magical blood than humans, he was still not the most powerful of their kind. Transformation and healing were his main abilities, and even those had their limits. Still, being a fay, that meant he had more knowledge than most of his comrades about magic and its cost. 

“Yes, just like that. It’s why Law spent so much time asleep. It was his cost for- well, for a lot of things that included making Excalibur as well as the magical borders around Camelot that keep the stronger fay out. Even for magic, that was an expensive price to pay.” 

“But I thought the two years of sleep was the price he paid for helping us?” said Sanji, more confused than ever. 

Zoro glared at him with enough force to melt iron. “No, shitty cook- the sleep was part of his original deal. We just woke him up too early, and he had to finish it as soon as we won our kingdom.” 

This almost started an all out brawl between the two at the table, but fortunately Nami stopped them before they got too far. 

She rubbed her knuckles from where she had planted them into the pair’s skulls and griped about how she was surrounded by idiots. This was unfair to the rest of the table who had done nothing to earn her ire, but nobody complained. 

Usopp brought them all back to attention. “But then what _was_ the price he paid to help us?” His own memory of Law’s first outing was untarnished, and he recalled some extraordinary feats happening. He’d been a little too distracted at the time to consider exactly how Law was doing such incredible things however, so he was a little lost on the whole “magic comes at a price” thing. 

“Like I said: energy. The more powerful the magic, the more energy it requires. Usually, it’s the magic users that have the largest energy reserves that end up being the most powerful. Law has an abundance in that area, so he’s capable of doing the kind of magic that might take five years off a fairy’s life for as little as a good night’s sleep,” Lami explained. “I’m almost positive that’s why that wizard’s curse worked so effectively. Being near the lake helps replenish his energy as well, so being away didn’t help, but he was using so much energy fighting that he simply didn’t have enough to sustain his body,” she said, tapping her lip as she mulled it over. 

“So basically what you’re saying is that Torao lost his memory for no discernable reason?” Nami clarified. The look on her face was positively thunderous. 

This did nothing to intimidate Lami. “Essentially, yes,” she said, holding her chin high. The rest of them could be angry all they wanted- it wasn’t going to change the fact that Law didn’t remember them. 

“Well, what are we going to do then?” Usopp moaned, faceplanting straight into the table and probably crushing his absurdly long nose in the process. 

It was Luffy who finally answered. “We do as Lami says. We introduce ourselves and get to know each other again,” he said with an air of finality. 

The others took this as their cue to move on to the rest of their duties. Luffy was the king, so if he said that’s how it was going to be, then that’s how it was going to be. Even if they didn’t particularly like this plan. But they all knew when he used that tone of voice, it meant that nothing they said was going to change his mind. They also noticed that although he was smiling like everything was going to be alright, he was obviously doing it for their benefit. Each of the people sitting at the table silently resolved to talk to him about it later. 

Lami was the only one who was willing to speak to him about it just then. 

“I’m sure everything will be fine, Luffy. You made quite an impression on him the first time- I don’t doubt for a second that you’ll do it again. Whatever happens, I know that you two are meant to be great friends,” she said, laying a reassuring hand on his arm. 

He smiled weakly down at her. “Yeah, I know. That’s not what I’m worried about though,” he said. He glanced around the room to see if anyone else was listening, but everyone else had already filed out the doors. He bent down close to speak quietly in her ear. “You remember what we talked about last time?” 

She nodded hesitantly. “Yes, I remember,” she whispered. “But Luffy- are you sure? I don’t want to worry him unduly. If what you say is true-” 

“If it is, he’d want to know.” 

Another sigh. “I’ll talk to him about it later.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: yooooo i've almost completed like 3 of my fics! That means I might be able to update the rest of my fics faster!!!!  
> Also me: what if i started a bunch of other fics to replace the ones i'm finishing before i even finish them  
> Me: Ay what the fuck
> 
> ok i swear we'll get to the fake marriage stuff next chapter. I KNOW WHY YOU'RE HERE lol. anyway i recently read the guinevere deception, which is why I'M here cuz i got, how you say, inspired, and we all know how that goes. for clarification tho, this is not a tgd au, i was just really into the idea of fake marriage camelot stuff, so TAH DAH~! also to be clear, i absolutely am not going off of actual arthurian legend either cuz who has time for that- not this chick that's for sure. Also, Lami (yes, i spell it lami and not lammy fucking fight me) is a big part of this fic so be prepared for that lol


	2. The Engagement

“I don’t understand.” 

“Well, Camelot is still in a delicate political state compared to the surrounding kingdoms, so it’s important that the court puts on a professional front while maintaining and creating alliances with others,” Lami said, sighing when Law simply continued to stare at her blankly. “Oh come on, I know you understand why people would be trying to make marriage alliances with the king.” 

He set down the glass of wine he’d been sipping at delicately on the nightstand. “I do, but I fail to see what any of that has to do with me,” he replied carefully. 

She twirled a lock of hair absentmindedly around her finger. “ _Well_ ,” she drawled, “Luffy isn’t really interested in marrying anyone yet. And certainly not some stranger he’s never met, but they keep sending him proposals anyways. The only way they’ll stop is if he chooses someone to marry on his own, but it has to be someone special enough that the other people sending proposals won’t feel slighted.” 

“Okay,” he said slowly, urging her to continue. 

“I’ve already explained to you that I’m sort of famous. We both are, but I’m treated with more of an air of mysticism. Plus, they all think you’re an ancient little old man,” she teased lightly, poking him in the side. 

He brushed her hand away and narrowed his eyes. “So you’ve mentioned,” he said dryly. “That doesn’t explain why I have to be the one to marry him. After all you’ve pointed out, shouldn’t _you_ be the perfect candidate for him?” 

Honestly, he couldn’t believe the words that came out of her mouth sometimes. He almost spat out his wine when she first started the conversation by telling him that he had to marry the king. He’d barely given her a second to explain herself before he was checking her over for some kind of mind controlling spell. 

Seriously, he went to sleep for a few centuries, and this is what he woke up to? 

“I’m getting to that,” she said tartly. “Now, you’re right. I am the perfect candidate, but it’s more complicated than that. You see, there have been a lot of rumors cropping up lately about…unsavory people wanting to assassinate Luffy. With magical help of course. So he needs someone who can protect him from those kinds of attacks, and _you_ are the strongest mage in the kingdom. I’m really only useful around the lake, so I can’t exactly travel with him to watch over him.” 

“So you want me to travel with him and play babysitter?” 

She pouted up at him. “Come on, Law. I know you’re concerned about his well being even if you don’t want to admit it. I mean, yeah, he sort of annoys you right now, but he’s our last hope,” she said bluntly. 

His eyes swept around the room for anyone listening, but the bedroom remained mercifully empty. His bedroom. That the king had specifically made for him. Right next to the king’s room. With a secret entrance that connected them. A room that by all logic should have been created for someone like the future queen instead. 

He really didn’t get Luffy at all. 

“Don’t say that so freely- what if someone heard you?” he hissed. The silencing wards he’d put around the room were still in place, but if anyone had walked in… He did not need anyone to know how important Luffy was to him. Or rather, the part he would play in their future. 

She rolled her eyes. “I keep telling you it’s fine. But whatever. The point is that people will accept it without much qualm if Luffy were to marry the Lady of the Lake. People have been spreading rumors for years that we’re in love- we might as well take advantage of it.” 

“Again, I have to ask- what does that have to do with me? Why not just marry him and be done with it?” 

“Ugh, you are so- haven’t you been listening? We need you to watch over him and keep him safe- but we also need him to go out and continue meeting people, keeping up appearances. But since we’re supposed to build alliances and not, you know, bully them into it, we can’t have you scaring the shit out of everyone with your scowling face. The other kingdoms and the warlords won’t trust him if you’re around. No offense, but they know how dangerous you are. I mean, you’ve even met some of the warlords on the battlefield before, so obviously they aren’t keen on seeing you again. So you need to be discreet about it.” 

“So?” 

She threw her hands up in the air. “So the best way to do that is in disguise! And since we’re trying to kill two birds with one stone-” she tried not to grimace at the specific expression, “-it’s best if you’re disguised as me. As his bride. Hence, you getting married to him.” 

The silence that followed her statement went on for entirely too long before he finally snapped out of his stupor to look at her in outrage. 

“Are you out of your damn mind?” he asked incredulously. 

She smacked him in the shoulder. “No! We’ve all thought this through, and I’ll have you know that it’s a great idea! Quit being a baby and agree to it already!” she snapped as she swiped his glass and chugged the remainder of its contents. She brought it with her in the hopes that it would help her brother loosen up a little, but of course it didn’t because he was an uptight asshole. 

The following argument was so loud and so long that the servants all avoided that specific wing of the castle for the next three hours. And if the sky started raining and thundering after it had been bright and sunny that morning, they all chose not to address it. 

But by the end of the day, Lami had gotten an all too reluctant Law to agree to it. 

Much to his regret. 

* * *

The following weeks were spent hashing out details, making plans to visit important people, keeping the warlords on the outskirts of their territory in check and the like. The Straw Hats- which were what Luffy and his closest knights had been dubbed- spent a lot of time with the Trafalgar siblings in private working things out. 

For the plan to work, it required secrecy. Only the Straw Hats would know what was going on behind the scenes. Everyone else in the castle- the servants, the other knights, the other advisors- would be none the wiser. 

So when Luffy stood up to make an announcement at dinner one evening, they were all astonished to hear him declare his engagement to the Lady of the Lake. In fact, more than a few people fell out of their chairs, and a good many more thought it was a joke. But he staunchly told them all that he was actually getting married, and the wedding would take place within the month. 

Lami had been all smiles, graciously accepting their confused congratulations throughout the evening and pretending to be smitten with the king. 

Well, not _too_ smitten. After all, if Law was going to have to pretend to be her for the foreseeable future, he was going to have to do it convincingly. And there was no way he would be able to act as though he were deliriously in love with him. He’d tried in practice sessions they held, and it had been dreadful. No, he could pull off pretending to be her, but it had to be within reason. They settled for making Lami seem like a quiet, reserved woman that loved Luffy but wasn’t into public displays of affection. 

It kind of sucked that Law and Lami were finally out of the lake only to have to spend all their time shut up in either Law’s room or some other private space where no one would interrupt them. But they did what was necessary. 

They did get to meet a few people though. Well, it was more of a reintroduction in Law’s case, but still. 

The first was a motley group of hunters and mages that Law had taken under his wing two years ago. They came running as soon as they heard Law was awake. They took the news about his amnesia rather well though. There were a lot of tears, but at least they didn’t try and decapitate him via magical sword. And actually, they were let in on the big secret as well- Luffy’s idea. He blurted it out to them their first day at the castle, making the rest of the Straw Hats scream in frustration. 

His logic was that Law would have wanted them to know if he had all his memories, and it was only fair. It was kind of sweet for someone who the water fairy still kind of wanted to throttle on a daily basis. 

In any case, he ended up agreeing with Luffy, if only because the newcomers seemed intent on spending as much time around him as possible. Surprisingly, he didn’t find it annoying. Mostly they wanted him to teach them more about magic, which was a sorely undereducated topic since the Great Cleanse that wiped out so many of the fay in the past. It was pretty basic stuff he taught them, but it was….nice. 

He whiled away the days reacclimating himself with their presence, and the occasional Straw Hat that came through to check on them when their duties allowed. 

There was only two other people Law had to reacquaint himself with during that time, and he decided that he didn’t much care to get to know them again. 

Eustass Kidd was a warlord that claimed territory on the outskirts of Camelot and the western Empire of Wano- a territory that was difficult to keep due to the power and resources of the latter. She mentioned that the Emperor was a dragon fay, who had apparently been part of the Unseelie before its demise. Law couldn’t recall such a man, but it _had_ been a long time. Besides, he hadn’t bothered to learn every single fairy’s name- that would have been a pain. There were fucking hundreds of them back then. 

Still, dragon fay were nothing to scoff at, and neither was an emperor. That Eustass Kidd managed to keep his claim meant that he must have guts. Either that or Kaido was too lazy to take care of the matter. The warlord insisted that it was the former. 

Unlike Law’s little followers- who everyone else referred to as the Heart Company, for reasons Law didn’t know- Kidd didn’t bother with pleasantries or respecting his personal space. 

“What the fuck- why do you look so young?” was what he sneered when he barged straight into the meeting room Law had commandeered to teach the Heart Company about healing tonics. Law’s first thought had been that the man had a face that looked worth punching. However, Lami insisted that he try and be nice to people he didn’t recognize. 

It didn’t work out too well. 

“Excuse me? Did you need something, or are you just here to waste my time and burn my eyes with your ugly mug?” he said icily. The book he was holding slammed shut with a snap. 

Off to the side, Zoro, who had been napping while he took a break from training new recruits, barked out a laugh. 

Kidd’s face had flushed an alarming shade of red that almost matched his hair as he snarled, “You fucking bastard! It’s been two fucking years, and you start shit like that? How about I make you eat that fucking book you-!” 

The masked man who accompanied him held him back before he could try and attack Law. 

“No fighting. That’s what Franky told us when he let us in,” he said. It was hard to discern what the other man was thinking with his face covered, but Law was pretty sure he was looking him over closely. 

Law sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Am I supposed to know you?” he asked wearily. 

“Are you supposed- yes! What the hell kind of question is that?” Kidd shouted. The Heart Company moved out of their seats to stand protectively in front of him, and Law felt something warm blossom in his chest. 

“Don’t yell at him like that!” Bepo protested. He seemed to be the leader of the group- sans Law. He was a polar bear from the Mink Tribe, whom Law vaguely remembered as staying on the outskirts of the major courts back in the day. He was very cuddly, and Law would never admit it, but he rather liked that about him. He was great for taking naps on. 

The rest of the Heart Company were quick to back him up, shouting at the warlord to leave Law alone since it wasn’t his fault that he didn’t remember anything. Which then prompted a whole explanation about the fact that Law had no recollection of their time together two years ago. Law was getting really tired of having to hear everyone go through this whenever they had to reintroduce themselves to him. Kidd was one of the worst so far. He seemed to take Law’s memory loss as a personal offense, although his companion Killer took it in more stride. Still, by the time he left, Law was ready to chop him into little pieces and throw him out the window. 

Lami wasn’t even there to help keep his temper in check, as she was getting her measurements taken for her wedding gown. 

Ugh. The wedding. He didn’t want to think about that. 

The rest of the castle was in upheaval as they arranged the wedding. The whole kingdom was when they learned the news. Kings didn’t get married every day after all, and especially not popular ones that were beloved by their people. It was going to have to be an awfully public affair. 

Law really wished he had a good argument to call the whole thing off, but whenever he came up with a new excuse, someone immediately had a well worded reason for why they had to go through with it. Figures. 

What really irked him is that they were all insisting that he had to be the one marrying Luffy at the actual wedding. Despite the fact that he was certainly allowed to go as himself, seeing as it was his sister that was the bride, and they weren’t very well going to kick out their own high wizard from the celebration. Other kingdoms may not have wanted to see him with the king outside of Camelot, but inside the borders of the kingdom there were no such restrictions. How would that even go? Thanks for helping us take the crown, but we’re going to have to insist that you miss your sister’s wedding? As if. 

No matter how much he complained or railed against it however, they all insisted that he had to be the one standing at the altar with the king. 

He was seriously considering doing some extremely irrational magic that would take up so much energy he would be forced into another five hundred year coma. Or maybe at least something that would put him out long enough that he wouldn’t have to play pretend bride. 

He supposed he ought to be grateful that they didn’t just hold the wedding the day after Luffy announced it. Sure, it was going to be a public event and all, but Luffy wasn’t exactly known for his patience. It wouldn’t have been out of character for him to marry someone the day after proposing. Law imagined that the marriage being fake didn’t help matters, and the king did seem somewhat impatient to get the wedding over with. 

Fortunately, the Straw Hats convinced him to hold off for a few weeks. For the benefit of the people who wanted to be at the wedding, namely his brothers. 

According to Lami, Luffy had two older brothers, but they were not blood related and neither lived in Camelot. Sabo was some sort of rogue knight that traveled the kingdoms and meted out justice as he and his organization found fit. There were no kings among them, and they were apparently a group meant to serve the people of the continent regardless of what kingdom they lived in. They were called the Revolutionary Army, and well liked by common folk. Obviously they had a much trickier relationship with official governments. Weirdly enough, Luffy’s father was in charge of it, although the young king didn’t know him very well. 

Ace on the other hand, was one of the most trusted knights in the northern kingdom of Sphinx. He was one of Emperor Edward Newgate’s commanders, and joined the ranks of his many adopted children. And no, Luffy was not one of the adopted children, nor did he consider Newgate his family. 

Honestly, he didn’t really understand how Luffy’s family worked at all, but whatever the case was, Luffy was willing to put off the wedding to make sure that his brothers were there. 

They sent a letter to Sabo and got a reply immediately confirming his attendance, but Ace they were having a harder time with. Evidently he refused to come until he got to meet the bride in person, and he insisted that they meet him in Sphinx to do it. Apparently, Newgate- better known as Whitebeard- and his other children were interested in meeting Luffy’s bride as well, and they couldn’t come to Camelot themselves. Too many of them had strong fay blood- Whitebeard included. 

So Law was forced to travel north with Lami and the Straw Hats. But at least he could do it as himself. 

It was…weird traveling with them. There had always been a part of him hoping that his whole previous time with the Straw Hats was an elaborate lie, but he was truly forced to accept that it was real. It was less obvious back in the castle when they were all busy taking care of business, but out on the road it was clear that they were used to being with him. 

They knew his favorite foods, where he preferred to set camp, the security measures he took before settling in for the night- they knew his whole routine, even if Law didn’t remember it himself. 

He had been more than a little perplexed when they motioned him over to the campfire their first night, well after everyone had eaten dinner, and told him to sit down and relax. His first thought was that it was wildly unnecessary, but Luffy had pulled him over without waiting for a response. 

He wanted to tell them that he didn’t much care for the smell of smoke- cooking he could deal with because at least it smelled like food, but other than that it just put him on edge. Imagine his surprise when he caught a whiff of the flames to find that it hardly smelled like smoke at all, but of fresh apples and cinnamon instead. Neither of which were in sight. 

“It’s just a simple spell,” Robin said, smiling gently at his confusion. “The scholars back home in Ohara taught it to me. I can teach you too if you like. You seemed a lot more relaxed when I used it in the past.” 

He probably had. Fire was something he disliked for a variety of reasons, not the least of them that it was his natural elemental opposite as a water fairy. But more than that were the numerous bad memories he had of it- the burning of forests, of fellow fairies, of what felt like his entire culture. Of Cora. 

He swallowed past the lump in his throat and nodded. “I would be grateful,” he said slowly. 

Lami threw open the flaps to their shared tent, took in his tense posture and everyone else’s unsure expressions, and promptly flung herself beside him on the log. “It smells great out here! Did you guys make dessert without telling me or something?” she asked, giving them an overblown stink eye. 

They laughed and explained again, back to their usual camaraderie. The Straw Hats swapped stories back and forth, reminiscing about this and that while Lami listened with rapt attention. Law found himself relaxing as the evening wore on, although he let everyone else do the talking. It was begrudgingly interesting to hear their stories, some of which even involved him. Although those ones made him feel like some sort of imposter in his own life. 

“I swear I thought we were going to die! I mean, there was a giant boar charging towards us, and we didn’t have any of the monster trio with us!” Usopp said, waving his hands at Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro. “I was sure that we were going to get trampled in the woods, and you guys were going to have to win the throne without us. I was writing my last will and testament in my head,” he said, laughing with the others. 

“And yet, here you are,” Sanji said. He gave the other man a heart slap on the shoulder while he leaned back to stretch out his legs. 

Usopp rubbed his shoulder and puffed out his chest. “Yes, yes, and thank goodness for that! After all, where would you be without my brilliant schemes and legendary slingshot skills?” 

“Alright then legendary one, how did you survive then? Did you use your great slingshot skills to bring down the rampaging beast?” Nami teased. She threw her long auburn locks over her shoulder and stuck her chin in to the air. 

“Yeah, how come we never heard about your great defeat of this beast before?” Zoro asked, smirking into his canteen. 

“I’m getting to that!” Usopp huffed. He motioned for them to all quiet down so he could finish his story. “Well, I didn’t tell you guys because I was in such shock! Zoro, you and Luffy were out hunting. Sanji and Chopper were out gathering supplies for supper. Robin and Nami were undercover trying to get more information about Franky’s capture, and this was before Brook joined us. The only other person around was Torao, and he was sleeping when the boar showed up!” 

Lami leaned a little closer, perking up at the mention of her brother. “When was this? I forgot that Brook wasn’t always with you guys. You found him with, um, that evil wizard, right?” she asked. She should have remembered his name- she hated his guts for cursing Law with that aging spell. 

“Yohoho! Indeed! I was being forced to work under the warlord Gecko Moria for decades before they saved me! Well, most of me anyway!” he laughed, gesturing at his skeletal body. 

Law had seen his fair share of strange things in his life, but Brook was a first. A living skeleton. No matter how contradictory that sounded. Gecko Moria had killed him, but used black magic to tie his soul to his decaying body until all that was left were his bones and his curly black hair. The wizard was supposed to cast some sort of preservation spell on him, but he’d messed up somewhere along the way. Law had almost blasted him out the window the first time he popped up in his room, he’d been so startled. 

Lami sniffed disdainfully. “It’s a shame he got away. If I ever come across him, I’m going to make him wish he’d never seen the light of day,” she declared, crossing her arms against her chest. 

Law rolled his eyes and put an arm around her, tugging her closer to his side. He knew she was still miffed about him getting hit with that spell, but it really hadn’t been a big deal. Yes, it made the final battle and traveling harder, but things had worked out all right in the end. 

The Straw Hats raised their eyebrows at the resentment in her voice and Law’s casual display of affection. From their time together, they’d only ever known Lami as a calm, brightening presence, and her brother as a grumpy loner that preferred his space. 

But then again, the Straw Hats had never spent that much time with the two of them together, so that was bound to change things. 

Sanji cleared his throat. “So anyways Usopp- you were saying?” 

“Huh? Oh right! So there I was, thinking I was about to become some wild boar’s next victim as it charged straight for me, when all of the sudden it just freezes!” he exclaimed. 

They all leaned in, curiosity piqued, and he preened at their attention. 

“Well, I had no idea what was happening- they say your life flashes before your eyes when you’re about to die, so maybe the world seems to slow down, right? But everything else was fine. Trees still rustled in the breeze, a bird flew past, and yet the boar did nothing but stand there mid charge and tremble. So I look around trying to figure out what was going on, and there was Torao! I guess he must have heard the ruckus and woke up, but whatever the reason, I had never been so relieved in my life!” Some of the others turned to grin at Law, and he did his best not to grimace. 

Zoro tilted his head to look at him. “What happened to the boar then? I don’t remember ever seeing one when we got back.” 

Usopp clapped his hands together loudly. “That’s the thing! I spotted Torao, and he had his hands up like he was holding it back, and then he just-” he made a waving gesture with his hand. “And it turned around and ran off!” 

He turned his attention to Law, pointing a finger at him. “And you never bothered to tell me how you did that! You just told me to keep it down and went back to sleep!” he said indignantly while the Straw Hats guffawed around them. 

“Doesn’t seem like you really needed to know then,” he replied, shrugging. 

Laughter continued to ring out over Usopp’s sputtering, and Law let himself smile a bit. He may not remember anything from his time with the Straw Hats before, but there was something about sitting around the fire like this that felt almost familiar to him. Of course, thinking of his lost time made him uncomfortable though. 

“Speaking of things you’ve never explained, what’s the deal with that ring of yours?” Nami piped up. She gestured at his hands, which had been twisting the aforementioned ring around his finger without him noticing. 

He stiffened, jaw clenching shut at the realization. The Straw Hats shuffled restlessly at the unexpected tension, and traded apprehensive looks. Even Lami had grown unusually uneasy at the question, although she pointedly kept her eyes away from the offending piece of jewelry as she glared at the ground. 

Law took a steadying breath and forced himself to relax. “It was a gift,” he said shortly. And then he excused himself for the night, crawling straight into bed. 

When Lami joined him less than fifteen minutes later, she didn’t say a word, but she wrapped her arms around him tightly and sang to him softly for hours afterward until he finally fell into a fitful sleep. 

* * *

They reached the border of Camelot the following afternoon, all of them pleased by their progress. They were less pleased to hear that there were warlords waiting for them, although they didn’t seem particularly surprised either. 

He assumed they were warlords anyway. The Straw Hats hadn’t exactly given him a run down of who was who in the current world. 

Law had gone ahead of everyone, transforming into the avian form that gave him his nickname- Merlin. When he’d suggested transforming and scouting ahead, none of the Straw Hats were surprised. Apparently, it was something he’d done often during their first journey together, and they’d all been waiting for him to ask. It would have bothered him, but he was kind of relieved that they accepted it so easily. 

He continued flying around the nearby area to inspect for anything else suspicious while the rest of them made their way to the warlords. 

* * *

“Sir Crocodile, what brings you to the border of Camelot?” Robin asked with chilly civility as the Straw Hats pulled their horses to a halt. 

She and the rest of the knights were less than pleased to see him there, much less alongside two other warlords. Marshall D. Teach and Edward Weevil had both called themselves Whitebeard’s sons once upon a time, but they had forsaken him and taken their own territories on the outskirts of their former father’s empire. All of them were slimy individuals that had once warred over territory in Camelot until Luffy rose up and kicked them out. 

That they had all come together to head their party off was not a reassuring sign. 

Crocodile shot her a sly smile. “We came to give our congratulations to the king on his upcoming marriage, of course,” he said. “And this must be his bride that you’re hiding behind you, no?” He peered around their shoulders to smirk at Lami, who was placed in the center of their circle. 

“I’m sure she’s lovely underneath that veil,” he said. His voice oozed like thick oil, but his eyes were as sharp as ever as they pierced through her. 

The other warlords and their men laughed, jeering for her to take off the veil and show them the face that had captured the king of Camelot’s heart. 

Lami merely sat there looking prim and poised and utterly unaffected while the Straw Hats threw the men dark looks. The only one who didn’t look angry was Luffy, who was preoccupied staring at the sky at the birds circling overhead. 

Teach bared his yellowing teeth at them. “She must be a real looker if your king is so eager to defend her!” he sneered. “What’s the matter? What are you hiding under that veil, sweetie? Buck teeth? A crooked nose? Or maybe you’re just too ugly to be seen in public?” he said, laughing uproariously with his men. 

Some of the Straw Hats surged forward to shut his mouth, but Lami held up a hand to stop them. “Don’t bother,” she said, shaking her head. 

“How noble,” Teach mocked. “And here I thought we might actually get to have a little fun today. Ah well, I guess we’ll just have to save it for when your wizard gets here. He’s sure taking his time- I thought he’d be here to prance around you. I heard he was the clingy type, always waiting at your beck and call,” he said. “But then again, he disappeared for two years. Maybe he just got sick of you and decided not to come back. Perhaps I can offer him a place in my own court,” he mused, tapping his chin as if thinking it over. 

That finally got Luffy’s attention, and the king snapped his head around to glare at the warlord. “Torao wouldn’t work with you. Especially since you’re being such a dick to Lami,” he replied. His hands tightened around his reins, but he kept his voice surprisingly level. 

His gaze flitted back to the sky so quickly that he missed the pensive look that flashed across Crocodile’s face. 

Some of the warlords’ men called out, pointing to a falcon approaching from the woods that the Straw Hats came from, and a smile lit up Luffy’s face. It was shortly wiped off when the falcon was divebombed by a large group of birds. 

“Hey!” Luffy shouted, turning his horse around to charge closer, despite being too far on the ground to be of any use. The birds continued to peck and claw at Law, who was trying to fend them off unsuccessfully midair. A mixture of gleeful caws and cries of pain rang through the air. He tried to blast them away with his voice, but using magic was a little harder when he was a bird, not to mention being attacked on all sides. 

Franky and Robin both steered their horses to block Luffy, the latter of the two reaching out to put a steadying hand on his fists, clenched around his reins. “Let him handle it,” she said quietly, shooting the warlords a dark look.

Well, Luffy didn’t like it, but he stayed put. Robin was probably right- Torao could take care of himself. In fact, he hated being fussed over. Complained that they were coddling him, when he was older than the lot of them combined, and could wipe them off the face of the earth if he so wished. His face always got adorably disgruntled whenever Luffy laughed at him for saying such things.

And Robin was right. Torao must have finally decided that he was sick of being attacked, curling his wings up and falling a few feet before suddenly unfurling himself as a fully grown white tiger, with massive wings to bat away his attackers. Long claws were used to slash flesh, and great paws to smack them straight out of the sky. What was more, he knocked the back of his wings together to send lightning crashing through their midst and let out a deafening roar that sent anyone left scattering.

Luffy beamed as Torao soared down to the others, pleased to see the shock and newfound wariness on the warlords’ faces. It wasn’t really necessary for him to come stalking up to the group in feline form, but it certainly was satisfying to watch the smug expressions on their opponents’ faces fall off.

Nonetheless, he reverted back to his natural self once he was back with the Straw Hats. “Well,” he drawled, wiping at one of the scratches he’d gotten and watching it disappear, “I can see why you don’t like them.”

“Could you always turn into one of those?” Zoro asked, brows scrunched up as if trying to remember if Law had ever done that before. 

He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as he walked up to lean against Lami’s horse. “I can transform into a lot of things, Zoro-ya. As long as I know how their basic anatomy works, it’s not a problem,” he said with a shrug. 

Lami reached down to rub away a thin set of gashes above his eye, the soft brush of her magic against his skin like a soothing balm. “That was awfully rude of them, wasn’t it?” she said, shooting the warlords a scornful look from beneath her veil. She was half tempted to take it off so they could feel the full effect of her glare, but they made such a fuss about it before that she hesitated. Although it would be satisfying to look them in the eye and tell them to fuck off. 

“It was, wasn’t it?” he said, raising a brow in their direction. 

Teach and Weevil were back to looking disgruntled yet proud, but Crocodile had gone unusually pale. He actually gestured for the other two to be quiet when they opened their mouths to retort, and even climbed down from his horse to bow. 

“Forgive us, we were simply testing the skill of the wizard we’d heard so much about. We would never have dared if we’d realized who you were,” he said hastily, making everyone stare at him on confusion. 

Law narrowed his eyes slightly and tilted his head. “Have we met before?” 

“ _No_ ,” Nami growled, glaring daggers at the warlord’s odd behavior. Crocodile had been dealt with before they even met Law or Lami. And she highly doubted that the man would have gone to the lake and met him there himself. 

Crocodile gave a self depreciating little chuckle. “Oh no, I was no one of import back then, but I first saw you many, _many_ years ago. You were my greatest inspiration,” he said with something that sounded almost like awe. “But I was far too young to gain your attention. And then with the downfall of the courts… Well, everyone assumed you died. Yet here you are. I must apologize for my behavior, and beg your forgiveness. I swear it will not happen again. Please, pass through to Sphinx. We will not detain you any further,” he said with a sweeping flourish of his hand. 

The other warlords and even some of his own men gaped at him in astonishment. They didn’t understand why he was accommodating their rival just because his wizard had shown up. 

The Straw Hats likewise didn’t know how to react. In all her years working under Crocodile before joining Luffy, Robin had never seen him behave this way. It was fishy to say the least. But it did seem sincere. It almost worried her more than if she suspected him of pretending to help them. 

Unbeknownst to anyone else, Law and Lami had figured out what changed the man’s tune. But they each decided not to explain why. Not yet anyway. 

Teach and Weevil grumbled and glared at their fellow warlord, but they relented at the urgency they saw on his face. 

The Straw Hats passed through silently, all wondering just what the hell had happened. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: oh thank god i can finally get to this fic. I have so much extra stuff written for it already, I just have to tie it in with what happened last time.  
> Me, looking at all the shit to address in between what I wrote and what I posted: aw FUCK
> 
> lol i still have basically two whole chapters worth of stuff written. in fact i wrote a whole new chapter and then was like...you know what i need another chapter to go ahead of this one, so I have to write something else AGAIN. Ah, the struggle. 
> 
> Is this a super convoluted way to make Law and Luffy get fake married???? YEAH. Do i care???? HELL NO lmao


	3. Forgotten Moments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a lil blurb from luffy's pov in the past

Magic, Law once told him, was the core of all life. Everyone had magic inside them, but not everyone knew how to recognize it. 

Luffy knew what magic felt like. He may not have known how it felt to _use_ it, but he knew how it felt. 

It was the odd tingling sensation as his skin stitched itself back together, the sharp snap of bones realigning, the warm rush of blood flowing back into his veins when Chopper treated him. It was the feeling of hairs raising on the back of his neck and the tang of metal in the air until bright light exploded around Law when he summoned lightning. It was the low humming that reverberated through his essence whenever he put his hands around Excalibur’s hilt. It was cold needles, stabbing into his mind and dragging his worst fears into the open. 

Gecko Moria had fay blood, that was for sure, but not enough to keep him out of Camelot. 

That was the thing about the barrier Law created- it only kept those with strong fay blood out. But it didn’t keep people with weaker blood yet strong magical abilities out. 

Generally speaking, the strongest magic users were fay with purer bloodlines. People like Lami and Law, who had little to no human ancestors whatsoever. Magic came more naturally to fairies. Everyone knew this. But humans could still use magic too- typically it was harder for them though. But if they worked hard and put the effort into learning it, they could wield magic just as powerful as the fay. 

Hence, Gecko Moria’s rise to power in Camelot. He, like many other warlords, used this to his advantage to lay claim to the kingdom. Outside of Camelot, where any number of pure blooded fay resided, it was much harder to keep ahold of land and power. Inside Camelot was a different story. 

Even someone as powerful as Kaido, the dragon Emperor of the West, wouldn’t be able to make it past the borders. He was a full blooded fay and would never be able to enter without being invited by Merlin or the Lady of the Lake. 

Edward Newgate and Charlotte Linlin, the Emperors of the North and South respectively, likewise had too much fairy blood in them to cross over, even though their bloodlines were not as pure. 

Only the Emperor of the East, Shanks, was able to make it into Camelot, but for reasons unknown he did not have much interest in making the journey. He’d always told Luffy that it was because he had his hands full in his own kingdom, and the younger man had accepted it. After all, expanding his reach to Camelot would stretch his resources, and there was every chance that others would take advantage of that. 

No, he was fine in his own kingdom. 

Thus, Luffy decided that Camelot would become his own domain, and he strived to take it back for the common people who fled to Camelot for protection from the less savory fay out there. 

He had nothing against magic itself- magic was simply a tool. Like a sword or an axe. It was the person who wielded it that was the problem. Luffy didn’t have any magical affinity whatsoever, but that never stopped him from fighting tooth and nail against those who did. 

It had been a real shock when Excalibur slid free from the stone that had housed it for centuries, and he hadn’t even done it on purpose. 

One minute he and his friends were scrambling to get away from a cruel band of mercenaries, and the next… 

He had only tried to grab the sword to throw it to Zoro after the other was left weaponless during the fight. And of course he knew that it wasn’t supposed to budge- everyone knew that, even outside of Camelot. Excalibur was one of the famed mysteries of the kingdom. People theorized that it was never actually meant to be removed, long before Luffy was even born. 

But then he moved it. 

The fighting had frozen for an instant as the sword came free, a subtle shock wave of magic resounded through the land so far that it could be felt in the other kingdoms. 

Funny enough, the only ones who hadn’t noticed were the two inhabitants of the equally infamous lake in the center of Camelot, who knew how the sword had gotten there, and most of the other mysteries of the kingdom they resided in. They had both been asleep when it happened, and while Lami was somewhat more present than her brother, she still spent most of her time disconnected from the world. 

Fighting with Excalibur was like nothing else in the world. It both heightened his strength and weakened him. His body could move faster, hit harder, last longer when he was using the sword. But every time he touched it the humming began, resounding through his bones, shaking his soul, and although he felt powerful, he also felt strangely empty. Like Excalibur was a weight that he could only bear for so long, slowly drawing an unknown substance from him. It was a ticking clock that counted down until something drastic happened. He just didn’t know what. 

But strangely enough, it also felt right. 

Luffy had never taken much stock in destiny- he believed you wrote your own path. Destiny was a word that men used to justify their poor decisions, nothing more. 

Until he pulled out Excalibur. And even then, he’d still been reluctant to believe in fate, despite all the signs. 

Before he’d taken up his quest to become king of Camelot, when he’d been very young, he’d had his fortune read. Ace and Sabo had insisted, as they had both gone to learn theirs and were eager to hear what was in store for their little brother. They had taken him all the way to Ryugu Kingdom in the sea to visit the best fortune teller in the world, Madam Sharley. 

There he learned about his destiny. Apparently fate had big plans for him. His brothers had expected something like their own- a reading that revealed a bright future beside someone powerful that he would follow and rise through the ranks to stand beside. 

They weren’t totally wrong. 

He did have a future next to someone powerful, but he would be doing no following. He would be carving his own path, taking a kingdom for his own and standing at its head. And there was darkness too. So much darkness that Madame Sharley couldn’t see through it- merely slivers in her already short glimpses. 

Through the dark fog he had seen Excalibur clutched tightly in his hand, although it looked different. Instead of the glowing silvery white blade he learned to wield in present time, the sword in the vision was black as night. It emanated darkness instead of light, and it had a gravity to it that seemed to suck everything in until nothing was left. And it felt strangely alive as well, as if it had a heartbeat of its own. 

But despite the fact that it looked nothing like it had in the vision, he knew from the moment his skin touched the hilt that it was the same sword. 

That was his first brush with destiny. 

There were other things he saw through the fog as well. Some he experienced while restoring peace to Camelot, some had yet to happen to him yet. There had been flashes of sand and shadows, of reindeer and a tattoo of a tangerine pinwheel. Things he was well familiar with by the time Law entered his life. 

And then there was the unknown. 

Eyes like molten gold, the flash of a bird’s wings, lightning that arced across the heavens. Puppets and strings. A tidal wave of water that blocked out the sky. And white. So much white. White trees and white grass, white bones littered along white sand. White that leeched all color from the world, that turned molten gold to palest silver. _White_. 

The sword had only been the beginning in his accepting that fate might be real after all, but by the time he made it to the lake to meet Lami, the small seed that had been planted began to flourish. His breath almost caught in his throat the first time he laid eyes on her- how she looked like all the color had been sucked straight out leaving nothing but white behind. Like a pale marble statue instead of a living breathing woman. 

He’d never be able to look at white the same way again. 

And then she had woken Law, and his breath was stolen for a different reason. Looking at Law sent a jolt through him- the same he had felt when he first touched Excalibur. And his golden eyes had haunted him long before he knew of the other’s existence. 

Getting to know Law and fighting alongside him was even better. It felt right to be with him. 

Luffy felt right with a lot of people- his closest friends for example. Instinctually he always knew when he and a person were going to click. That being said, it was different with Law. He didn’t know how to explain it. If destiny was real, then this was it. Law was it. And he never wanted to let go. 

Their second to last face off with Gecko Moria was what made him realize that. 

He was a slimy wizard that had spent his life learning magic that few dared to attempt. His greatest weapon had been fear. Or more specifically, the ability to pluck people’s greatest fears from their mind and use it against them. Even Luffy had struggled against it, and he was about as fearless as they come. Emphasis on the “about” part. Everyone was afraid of something. Luffy was afraid of losing the ones he loved. Seeing their broken bleeding bodies in front of him made something unhinge inside of him. Something that made him reckless and not careful enough. 

Gecko Moria had pulled each of their greatest fears from the depths of their minds and laid them before them, reveling in the chaos. Luffy and his friends, and all the people he had rallied to his side had almost fallen apart facing him. If not for Law, they might have lost. 

But Law kept them together. He banished the illusions that Moria created and kept the man busy dealing with him instead of the others. Without his focus upon them they were free to fight his minions instead. 

They didn’t know what Law was afraid of. They almost believed that he really did fear nothing when Moria’s abilities proved fruitless against the water fairy. 

The reality was that Law was just better at keeping it under wraps than most people. Growing up around powerful fay gave him the advantage of experience against such tactics. He had fears as much as anyone else, and he was no less eager to avoid facing them. 

That night after the battle was over, Law looked more tired than ever. 

The aging curse the wizard hit him with had barely started to take effect yet- he’d aged maybe ten or fifteen years by the end of the day- but even so, he looked haggard. There was a haunted look in his eyes, and Luffy had wanted nothing more than to wipe it from them. But he didn’t know how to do that. So instead he had merely sat across him from the bonfire, watching Law stare at nothing. 

Watching the curse strike him had been harrowing for Luffy. It had been so unexpected. 

Law had been doing so well. He’d been so sure of himself, never wavering. And in turn, the others looked to him and felt their resolve strengthen as well. For if the great Merlin could face the King of Nightmares without fear, then surely they could win this fight. 

And then it had happened. The barest of slips. Moria was able to slide through the slightest of cracks in Law’s mental defenses and catch a glimpse of his fear. 

It was barely anything at all, but it was enough to catch him off guard. 

Moria didn’t even know what the hell sort of fear he was conjuring when he made feathers rain from the skies. But it was all he had to go off of, so he had made them burst forth in a blind panic to try and keep Law from getting too close. 

And somehow it had worked. 

Law had frozen in his tracks- flinched back from the mere sight of feathers. It might have been comical if it weren’t so effective. It only took that single moment of hesitation for Moria to throw the curse at him, distracted as he was. The spell crashed straight into him, throwing him off his feet and knocking all the air from his lungs. 

Luffy had a hard time recalling what happened after that. According to everyone else, he had immediately rushed to defend the wizard, and there had been nothing the enemy could do to stop him. He’d been a blur of red and silver, and practically gave off a palpable aura of rage. Once Law recovered, he banished the feathery illusions and rejoined the fight, although he’d moved a little more gingerly afterward, as if something pained him. 

It wasn’t until Moria had run off with his tail between his legs that they were able to take stock of the wizard’s ailment. And even then, it was only Law himself that knew how to identify what was wrong. 

There was nothing they could do to help him. A powerful fay might have been able to assist him, but there were only two of those in Camelot, and Law was one of them. The other was Lami, and she was too far to be of any help. They had won the battle, but they needed to end the war. That meant following Moria and stopping him and the other remaining warlords once and for all. They had no time to go back to the lake. 

Law insisted on pushing through. 

The others knew he was right, so they didn’t press the matter, even though they all wanted to give him time to rest and recover. Time was limited though, and they knew it. 

That night Law had spent hours staring into the flames, yet his mind was far away. They wanted to talk to him- ask him what it was that scared him so, but they couldn’t bring themselves to do it. Not even Zoro or Nami were able to muster up the courage to ask. There was something so fragile about him as he sat there, twisting the black band around his ring finger restlessly. 

Twisting and twisting and twisting. 

Luffy had asked to look at it once. It was with a fair share of reluctance that Law let him- but he held out his hand and let Luffy and his ragtag crew gather around to stare at it with wide eyes. 

Its design had a pair of birds encasing a small circular ruby, one upside down and the other right side up like their image was being swirled and distorted in the mirror surface of a pond, caught in an eternal dance around a drop of blood red. The ring may not have been the most intricately detailed piece of work out there, but it was beautiful in its simplicity. 

They asked him where he got it and what it was for. All he said was that it was a promise and refused to elaborate. 

Sitting at that fire, Luffy suddenly found himself wondering what the promise meant. 

He’d been subdued that night as well. While Law watched the fire, he watched Law and thought about what he’d seen earlier that day. 

It had been in his eyes. The fear. When Moria had scattered those feathers in the air, Luffy had seen it flash across his eyes quick as lightning. But there had been something else there too. Something that Luffy was afraid to name, for the way it twisted up his insides. 

Something he recognized in himself. 

Later on, when Law was asleep back in the lake, Lami would explain in vague terms why her brother reacted the way he did. She’d made him swear not to tell anyone, and she hadn’t given him any details, but she had told him nonetheless. 

And it had hurt in a way that he’d never felt before, but he understood. 

Before that however, he had to wonder with everyone else why Law had hesitated at the sight of feathers that rained down on the battlefield, as vibrant and vivid pink as sunset. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just realized that i could have posted this one like a week ago when i posted that last chapter, but i totally forgot lol. oops.


	4. Meet the Soon to be In-Laws

Not much was said about their odd encounter with the warlords. The whole thing stank to the Straw Hats, but there was little to do about it for the moment. They were hardly going to turn back and demand answers from Crocodile. They were on a deadline after all. Still, there was some discussion about finding him on the way back. 

Conversation drifted to a stop about an hour in from the border, although it took Law and Lami far too long to realize it. They were too busy breathing in the fresh air and reveling in the lush forest that surrounded them. Birdsong trilled in the trees, and light danced through the leaves as a breeze rustled through them. Colorful flowers bloomed along branches and vines, their sweet scent mixing into a heady perfume. It all felt so wonderfully alive, it brought genuine smiles to their faces. 

It wasn’t until Chopper let out a squeak of fear that they realized the Straw Hats did not feel the same sense of peace from the place as they did. 

“That vine tried to grab me!” He scampered closer to Robin and Franky’s horses, letting the former pet his head consolingly. 

The rest of them watched as the aforementioned vine curled away from him until it pressed against a tree trunk, blending in with the rest of the vines lounging there. There were a lot of hands gripped tightly around weapons, Law noted. 

“It’s just a creeping vine. It doesn’t mean any harm,” Lami said, trying to alleviate their fears. 

Judging by the looks on their faces, they didn’t believe her. 

“Sorry, Lami, but we’ve had too many bad experiences with sentient plants. And this whole place is giving me the creeps. I know we’re on a tight schedule, but we should have gone around. We don’t belong here,” Usopp said, glancing furtively around. 

Law shared a puzzled glance with his sister. “It’s just a forest, Nose-ya.” 

“No, it’s not!” His wasn’t the only voice in the mix, several of the others looked particularly disgruntled. Luffy didn’t seem to mind much, nor did Robin or Brook, but they still seemed to be keeping a close eye on their surrounding like they expected the trees to try and swallow them whole. 

“You really can’t feel it?” Nami asked, eyeing another vine that twisted through the air towards them. Zoro unsheathed one of his swords and moved his horse closer, prompting the vine to slither back into the branches. 

Another puzzled glance. “Feel what?” 

“This forest is unnatural,” she said, a furrow appearing between her brows. 

“What makes you say that?” Lami asked, reaching out to stroke her fingers on a vine that approached her, a brilliant orange flower blooming at the end to drop into her lap. She smiled and brought it up to her nose, breathing in its rich scent deeply, unaware of the looks of horror on some of her companion’s faces. 

Usopp looked like he was about to knock it out of her hand before he thought better of it, choosing to clench his hands in his reins instead. “Because this forest wasn’t here when we passed through two months ago.” 

Oh. Well, that did explain why it felt so magical. Still, the siblings didn’t quite understand why the rest of them were so put off by this. 

“Does that…not happen often?” Law asked. 

The Straw Hats looked at him like he’d grown another head. Even Luffy looked surprised by the question, just to add insult to injury. Apparently, it didn’t happen often. It must have been incredibly weird for them to imagine a whole forest growing practically overnight, but to Law and Lami, the opposite was true. Centuries ago, it was an entirely common phenomenon. Fairies created new forests all the time, for a variety of reasons. It was perfectly normal. Evidently, that was no longer the case, but he supposed it made sense. Forests appearing out of nowhere would obviously mean there were fairies around, so the practice would have become wildly unpopular during the time fairy hunts became common. 

It was kind of sad though, and not just because it reminded him of how different the world was, or how his kind had suffered. What must it be like to ride through a forest like this, so full of magic and life, and think it unnatural and creepy instead of awe inspiring? 

He sighed, letting his eyes close for a moment as he absorbed this new information. Had he felt this same sense of melancholy when he woke up the first time, or was he too busy fighting battles to realize how much had changed? 

His eyes opened when he felt tendrils brush against his face, the creeping vines having taken the opportunity to get closer to him. Small silver flowers began budding along them, like a miniature constellation that rained down on him until he smiled. 

“It’s safe here,” he told them without looking away from the vines to see their expressions. “As long as you don’t try to harm the forest, they shouldn’t hurt you. So you should probably put your sword away, Zoro-ya.” 

He heard the sword slide back in its sheath, but he was sure the Straw Hats were still uneasy to be traveling through there. Regardless of how welcoming it treated Law and Lami. 

Maybe it would have been better if they went around. They’d probably skirt around it on the way back, and he couldn’t really fault them if they chose to, but he’d be lying if he said he hoped they’d get over it before then. He liked it here. Back at the lake it seemed like there was a whole new world for him to relearn, a new castle to tiptoe around in, new faces to memorize, a new life to get accustomed to. Here it felt…familiar. 

It made him want to stop riding and lie down in the grass, to run his hands along rough tree bark and pull himself high among the branches. He wanted to wait for the sun to set and find a nice secluded spot to stare up at the stars and breathe in the crisp night air. 

If he closed his eyes he could almost taste it. The quiet muttering of the Straw Hats became the muted celebration of fairies as they danced and sang the night away, while he sat off to the side to enjoy the festivities. There would be wine and fresh fruit being passed around, growing off branches, sprouting up from seemingly nowhere. He could almost hear Cora’s quiet breathing beside him, the brush of feathers against his cheek. 

No, not feathers, but a featherlight touch. 

Eyes snapping open, he found Luffy reaching out to him, fingers just barely making contact with his skin. It was so unexpected; all Law could do was blink at him. 

“You looked like you were going far away,” was all Luffy said. 

Law didn’t know what to say to that, so he kept his mouth shut. He swallowed past the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat, and he gently pushed his hand away. Nudging his horse ahead, he resolutely refused to think about the strange intensity in the king’s eyes. 

There was so much history between them, yet it was all lost to Law. It left him feeling distinctly uncomfortable and out of sorts. The knowledge that they were so familiar with him, knew things about him that he didn’t remember sharing- he felt like an outsider to his own life. Without Lami to fill him in here and there, he probably would have stayed hiding in the lake in a constant state of anxiety. 

Luckily for him, Lami was there to help ground him. She was the only truly constant thing in his long life, and he couldn’t imagine living in a world without her. 

Even now, she rode up beside him, resting a hand on his and smoothing out the tight grip he’d developed on his reins. “It’s okay,” she said softly enough that no one else could hear what she said. “I know what you were thinking of. I was too. And I also miss it, but not all these changes have been bad. Look around- they may not be the family we had before, but that doesn’t mean they care about us any less. We have people we can trust here. We can have a different life- one where everyone stands on equal ground, where no one has to prove that they have worth. We can’t change the past. Don’t try to hide there.” 

He knew she was right, but it didn’t keep his heart from clenching in his chest, or the sharp stab of loss that came every time he acknowledged that he’d never see that world again. 

Neither of them said any more after that, but they stayed as close as they would for the rest of the journey through the forest. And despite their misgivings, some of the Straw Hats came up to them to ask questions about their surroundings, curious to know more about the magical side of their world. 

As they left, Franky handed him a long staff of dark, twisting wood, entwined with thin vines and tiny delicate flowers like the ones that had fallen in his lap before. When asked, he simply said that he had asked the forest for something they could take with them, and it had dropped it into his hands. Looking at the little silver flowers, he’d judged that the forest had meant for Law to have it. 

He took it carefully in his hands, running them reverently over its surface and smiling a little when the flowers seemed to perk up when he touched them. He thanked Franky, and then sent a silent thanks to the forest as well, barely out of its woods and already longing to return. 

But he had a job to do, and he was intent on keeping it. 

* * *

The rest of the journey through Sphynx wasn’t so bad in Zoro’s opinion. He definitely didn’t want to go back through that forest again, even though Law and Lami seemed to like it there. But it seemed like a common enough experience for them to have flowers bloom around them just for passing through, whereas for the Straw Hats, it was far more common for the plants to try and eat them. 

He still remembered the last time he’d stumbled into the wrong part of the forest back home in Camelot, where he had to cut through what felt like an endless amounts of vines to try and escape as they attempted to drag him further into the dark trees full of glowing little eyes. 

Just thinking about it made him shudder. 

Still, a small part of him was willing to go back through the new forest if Law or Lami asked to. Nothing malignant had actually happened while they were in that specific forest, and the fairies had really liked it there. They had seemed lighter in there. More free than usual. He didn’t think he’d ever seen Law smile like that before. 

Judging by the way Luffy had stared at the fairy through the whole trek through the woods, he didn’t think he had either. 

Everyone else had gone back to talking and joking around like usual once they were out of there, but Zoro still caught his friend shooting Law glances every other minute. Not that Law noticed. He was too busy with his own thoughts, running his hands up and down the staff that Franky had plucked from the forest for him. 

He still didn’t understand how that had worked, despite the fact that he’d been watching Franky while it happened. One moment the big guy was talking to the trees- somewhat hesitantly, since none of them knew if it would work- and the next, the branches overhead were rustling until a knot of vines deposited the staff gently into his lap. 

If all plants ended up being sentient, then maybe he was going to have to watch his words around them. 

Law still seemed pretty out of it by the time they reached the first village- the only thing keeping him on track was Lami, who held his reins in one hand and her own in the other, as if this were a perfectly normal thing for them. 

Who knows, maybe it was. It wasn’t exactly like they’d been having horse rides down at the bottom of the lake. Despite all the time they’d spent talking to Lami over the past two years while Law slept, they were coming to realize that they really didn’t know all that much about her. Either of them, really. 

They knew that they _liked_ them, which was the most important part, and they knew what their personalities were like- for the most part. 

Their knowledge of Law didn’t change too much. He was still grumpy and taciturn, but usually willing to help if asked. Unless it was something stupid that Luffy suggested, like making it rain candy from the sky, in which case he would merely tell Luffy that it was something stupid, and he wouldn’t do it. He retained his wry sense of humor, and the ability to insinuate that someone was the human embodiment of idiocy with a single look that made grown men cower. He still hated bread with a burning passion. Honestly, Law had always been pretty tight lipped about his past, as he was a rather private person, so it wasn’t really surprising that they knew so little about his personal history. 

Lami wasn’t nearly so unforthcoming, and answered whatever questions they asked. Unlike her brother, she actually smiled and talked to people without making it seem like she merely tolerated their presence. 

Not that any of the Straw Hats really minded Law being such a moody bastard, but it was certainly a far cry from the way his sister behaved. 

Granted, all of their interaction before had been at the lakeside, so they hadn’t really known what it would be like to have her in the actual castle at Camelot and interacting with other people. She had always been rather cheerful compared to Law, and mildly disappointed at any bad news they brought to her. Even when that happened, she always seemed to try and cheer them up. Getting angry didn’t seem to be in her repertoire. 

That was before Law woke up however, and before the Straw Hats really got to see them interact with each other. 

It was becoming apparent that although Lami loved her brother dearly, she was more than willing to argue with him, regardless of how it made the weather turn for the worse. She was also fiercely protective of him, and glared at anyone who she decided looked like they would cause her brother trouble. Aside from the Straw Hats, of course. Particularly Luffy, who seemed to cause Law trouble to no end. At one point, Usopp asked her if she would really attack Moria if given the chance, and she proceeded to give him a very long, very graphic explanation of all the ways she planned to make him suffer. It turned out that getting her angry was entirely possible, and all too probable if it involved her brother somehow. 

Zoro was plenty familiar with protective siblings- Luffy and his brothers, Nami and her sister, Franky and his-how-dare-you-call-him-my-brother-no-I’m-not-checking-up-on-him-I-just-want-to-see-if-he-got-uglier-he’s-totally-not-my-brother, Iceburg. But for the most part, those siblings seemed perfectly content to spend time apart, often going through long stretches with little to no contact at all. 

This was not the case for Law and Lami. 

One of the main reasons Lami had never left the lake before was that she refused to leave her brother alone, even if it was only to enter the castle right by it. She also said she was tied to the lake and got weaker the farther she got from it, but it was still pretty obvious that Law was the main reason she didn’t want to leave. 

And when Law left the first time, he’d only agreed after Lami spent an hour convincing him that she would be fine. The entire time he’d spent on the campaign, he could often be found looking into the distance with a knit in his brow, as though trying to find her from afar. 

He might joke about them being codependent if that weren’t so obviously false. They were both very capable of doing things independently, and insisted on it in various occasions when they were sure the other would disagree with whatever decision they were making. Lami’s fake marriage to Luffy, for example. That had been a decision that Lami stringently insisted be made without any input from Law whatsoever until it was all but final. In hindsight, this was a necessary evil since there was no way in hell that Law would agree otherwise. 

But it had to be done. _Had to._ Because as soon as Sanji made an offhanded joke about how Luffy should marry Law if he loved him so much after the millionth time their king started off on a tangent about how great the fairy was, Luffy _would not let the idea go._

The past year had been spent trying to make Luffy see reason to no avail. 

They had tried countless arguments to convince him that he couldn’t just up and marry Law as soon as he woke up, but he wouldn’t listen to any of it. To him, it didn’t matter that they’d only spent a couple months together, or that Law wasn’t exactly good wife material for a king. Luffy decided they were going to get married, and that was that. 

As for Law’s consent to getting married, well, they all figured that he’d have to explain it to Luffy himself once he woke up. Whenever the rest of them tried, he just said he’d ask Law once he was back and that Law would obviously agree. 

And while Law might have grown fonder of Luffy by the end of the campaign, Zoro sincerely doubted that he’d agree to marry him just like that. But it would be Law’s problem at that point, so there was no use in the rest of them worrying about it in the meantime. 

Or so they thought. Then Law magically lost his memories, and it was like they were back at square one. 

Naturally, this would have been a good time for Luffy to realize that there was no way Law would agree to marry him. Naturally, this did not happen. 

So they devised this horribly convoluted plan to get them hitched as a way to get Luffy to chill out a little. Sure, the marriage may be fake, but it did count as a marriage in Luffy’s eyes, and that was the important part. He was fully convinced that everything would be fine, and he could make Law fall in love with him later or whatever. 

He didn’t know what went on in that kid’s head some days, and frankly, if he was that into Law, he didn’t think he wanted to know. 

Part of him was kind of hoping that Ace could talk some sense into him, but on the other hand… Ace wasn’t always the most objective person. There was a very real possibility that he’d take one look at Luffy’s beaming face and decide it wasn’t worth it to try and stop him. 

At this point, he was mainly hoping that Law wouldn’t try to murder Luffy before their fake wedding night. 

They stopped at the next village they came upon, deciding it was best to stay the night rather than travel through the dark. It was early evening, but most of them were pretty tired from traveling. Law was so out of sorts, he skipped dinner and went straight to bed. Lami, veil back in place, got Robin to convince the innkeeper to send their meal to their room, so she could coerce him into eating. 

That left the Straw Hats on their own for the evening. 

Sanji was incensed that the innkeeper wouldn’t let him cook their meal, but with a few choice words from Nami, the ero-cook got over it. The food was pretty good, but even Zoro could admit that Sanji’s was better. They had grown a bit spoiled by it over the years. 

Dinner was a lively affair, with lots of drink and general mayhem from their party. It was a bit of a relief that Law wasn’t there. And also kind of sad. They really had missed him and his surly attitude the past two years, but with the amnesia, it was so much harder to be around him. 

It was pretty obvious that he wasn’t comfortable that they knew so much about him while he knew virtually nothing of them. They tried to fix it, but there wasn’t much they could do. 

The tiniest slip up could make Law shut down- like when Nami asked about his ring. Granted, Law hadn’t exactly been forthcoming about it before, but he also didn’t used to look at them like he was waiting for them to attack him like he sometimes did now. It was like walking on eggshells, and Zoro hated it. 

Luffy did too- that much was obvious- and pushed Law’s boundaries a lot more than anyone else was willing to. He really wasn’t acting much different to his usual self, but Law wasn’t accustomed to it anymore, and it was easy to see that the younger man got on his nerves. 

But there were times that Zoro almost thought he could see a glimmer of hope for Luffy’s prospects. Teeny _tiny_ glimmers. He didn’t want to read too much into it, but occasionally he caught Law watching Luffy like he actually approved of him. 

It was usually while Luffy was with someone else, like one of their friends, or one of the workers at the castle, or even random common folk that just wanted to meet the king. Luffy wasn’t the politically minded sort of individual that people usually required for their monarchy, but he made up for it by having a good heart. Besides, he had other people to help take care of that stuff, like Robin and Jinbei. 

Gods, Jinbei didn’t even know about everything with Law yet. He was off in the Ryugu Kingdom as an emissary, and they’d only remembered to send off a letter to him the other week to inform him about the wedding and Law’s amnesia. It was possible that he’d gotten the missive by now, but Zoro was sure the fishman must have loads of questions that couldn’t be answered until he returned. 

Law had once been the only one able to keep Jinbei and Luffy alive after a particular battle, so the fishman felt as if he owed Law his life. Not that Law particularly cared for the sentiment even before he went back to sleep, but Jinbei felt honor bound to watch out for him nonetheless. 

Zoro imagined that the fishman would feel like he owed it to Law to help him readjust to life in Camelot once he returned. 

Maybe Law would like that though. He did seem more comfortable with other fay. He’d warmed up fairly quickly to Chopper, although that may have been because their little reindeer friend was so lovable it was nigh impossible not to. Then there was the Heart Company, where Bepo was the only fay, but the others were all invested in magic, which seemed to endear them to Law. Likewise, Robin had wormed her way into his good graces with her professional interest in magical history, as an earth mage and a historian. 

And unlike the rest of them, Jinbei had actually grown up around plenty of other fay, so he could probably relate better to the Trafalgars. Possibly. A lot had changed in five hundred years, but Jinbei still seemed like he’d have the best chance out of all of them. 

Eventually they finished their meal, but they weren’t ready to hit the hay yet, so they went out to get some fresh air. Not that they hadn’t gotten plenty of that on their journey, but when he’s pointed that out, Nami had given him a look to boil lead, so he shut his mouth. 

They ended up sprawled out on a hill, overlooking the village as children ran around playing Black Bird before it got too dark, and their parents called them back for bed. 

“Aw, I always loved playing Black Bird as a kid,” Usopp said as he watched on fondly. 

“Me too!” Luffy said, “But I was pretty bad at whistling, so whenever I was Black Bird, it was easy to find me, shishishi!” 

“You were bad at whistling?” 

“Yeah! I kinda just stuck my fingers in my mouth and ended up spitting more than anything,” he said, prompting them all to laugh at the image that brought up. 

“I always liked being the fisher best,” Nami said, making Zoro nod along. It had been his favorite too. He’d always found the chase to be more fun than the running away. 

Chopper waddled a little closer to peer at the kids as they ran around. “How do you play Black Bird?” he asked. Obviously, he’d never played, having been a reindeer for his childhood. The idea of playing games like that wouldn’t even occur to him until he’d been transformed into what he was now. 

“I’m also curious,” Robin said, patting him gently on the head. “I never had much chance to play games with the scholars at Ohara.” 

Everyone leapt at the chance to explain, although there was some arguing as to the rules of the game, and what the proper words to use were. 

“What- that is _not_ what you say! It’s supposed to be, ‘Why not leave your brother be’ not, ‘Please just leave your brother be!’” Usopp tried to cut in over Nami. 

She reached over and tried to smack him, but he shied away. “No it’s not! Just because you use the wrong version-” 

“My version is the right version!” 

“Whatever! I bet you say ‘fleeing from a fire’ instead of running too!” 

“Why would a bird run?!” 

“I don’t know, why would a fisher be looking for bird or a heart be running free? It doesn’t have to make sense!” she yelled, ripping up a handful of grass and chucking it in his face so he sputtered. 

“I’m confused,” said Chopper, looking between them with a furrow in his little fuzzy brow. 

Franky laughed, tugging him closer. “Well, there’s a couple different versions you can say while you play Black Bird, but they’re more or less all the same. It kind of depends on where you’re from. The version I grew up sounds like a mixture of the two. But there’s three verses that everyone says while they run around. The first goes something like this: 

“ _Black bird, black bird_

_running from a fire_

_Try to fly away_

_but your brother lights the pyre_ ” 

He pointed to the kids as they started up another round, chanting the words as they ran around in chaos. Every once in a while a whistle could be heard through the commotion, and one of the kids was swiveling their head around as they ran as if looking for someone specific. 

“See that one that’s not singing? He’s the fisher. It’s his job to catch the black bird- the one who’s whistling. But he has to find them first,” he said with a wink. The second verse started up, and they listened closely. 

_“Black bird, black bird_

_does the heart run free?_

_Twisted and enraged_

_Why not leave your brother be?”_

“Aha!” Usopp yelled triumphantly, sticking his tongue out at Nami, and then spitting out more grass that she threw at him. 

Franky shook his head as he chuckled. “There’s only one verse left for the fisher to find the black bird.” Chopper watched in rapt attention as the children continued to run and sing. The kid playing as the fisher began to look more frantic. 

_“Black bird, black bird_

_lose your voice at last_

_Sing your final song_

_for the fisher finds you fast!”_

A shrill whistle trilled out, and the fisher snapped around to find the source, locking onto a little girl with a bright yellow ribbon in her hair. She shrieked as he came barreling toward her as the rest of the kids continued to run and count down, some of them screaming along with her. 

“ _One! Two! Three! Four! Five!”_

The fisher ran smack dab into her on the number four, and the two went tumbling down in a tangle of limbs, screaming and laughing all the while. 

“Happy ending for the fisher this time,” Sanji pointed out wryly. “My father didn’t like us playing when we were little- wanted us to be good little soldiers and all that crap. But sometimes my mom would talk him into letting us have some fun every once in a while. Whenever Yonji was the fisher and didn’t manage to catch the black bird, he would throw a fit.” 

“Eh, well, not everyone can handle defeat,” Zoro replied, laying back on the grass. 

At the bottom of the hill, someone’s mother called out that the kids could play one more game before it was time to head home. There was some moaning and groaning after that, but they got over it soon enough. They all closed their eyes tight and waited for the black bird from the last game to choose the new black bird. Once the little girl had picked someone, she told them all to open their eyes, and the fisher from before asked for volunteers to be the new fisher. 

“It looks like they’re enjoying themselves,” Robin said with a smile. “I wonder where the words come from,” she said thoughtfully. 

Nami pursed her lips. “Who knows. The game’s been around for ages. Probably just someone whose kids got bored, and they had to find a way to entertain them.” 

“Yohoho! I remember playing the game when I was a child too! What fun times!” Brook piped up. 

“It does look fun,” Chopper said wistfully. 

Luffy rolled over behind him where he was seated between Robin and Franky. “We’ll play sometime! Maybe when we get to Whitebeard’s castle. I bet Ace would play!” 

Zoro didn’t know about that, but it might be kind of interesting to play Black Bird with fully grown adults that were perfectly capable of beating the tar out of each other. As if she could hear his thoughts, Nami gave him a warning look. 

“Do you think Law or Lami have ever played Black Bird?” Usopp asked, scratching his nose. 

They all thought it over. “Well, it’s pretty old if Brook played it as a kid, but I don’t know if it’s _that_ old,” Nami said. 

“Do you think they’d know where it came from?” Chopper asked next. 

Robin ruffled his fur playfully. “Perhaps. We might be expecting a bit much from them though. They did spend most of their time sleeping in the lake.” 

“We should ask them tomorrow then.” He yawned, rubbing his little hooves against his eyes. 

They took that as their cue to head back to the inn and get some shut eye before continuing their journey in the morning. 

* * *

None of them remembered to ask them about the game the next morning. They were too busy getting ready to go at first, and then after that it slipped their minds. 

Besides, Law looked more tired than ever that morning. It appeared that he’d gone through one of his frequent bouts of insomnia and hadn’t slept a wink. From past experience, they knew it was best to leave him alone for a while, since he’d be snippier than usual. At least until later on when he’d mellowed out a bit and become so dead tired that he could barely think, much less talk to them. 

More than a few of them were worried he’d fall asleep and fall off his horse if they didn’t watch him carefully though. 

Luckily, Lami had slept just fine, and was more than up to the task of keeping her brother on his horse. She made up for all his silence too- as per usual- and chatted with them merrily as they trudged along. They ought to reach Whitebeard’s castle in the next couple of days. It usual took about four or five days to get there from home. Camelot was a lot smaller than Sphynx, so it took less time to travel through. Barring any unfortunate trips through their own weird forests, that is. 

The following days were much the same, although sometimes Law could be convinced to eat dinner with the rest of them. Mostly he just picked at his food, but it was better that he was with them instead of hiding away. 

He seemed to get more tired the farther they got from home, and Lami did too, but not to the same extent as Law. It would be a relief when they finally made it back to Camelot. Maybe then Law could go back to functional person, and everyone else could stop stressing out about his wellbeing all the time. 

By the time they saw Whitebeard’s castle in the distance, all Zoro could think was, _Thank goodness we can finally head back home soon._

As much as he liked Whitebeard’s family, he’d rather be back in Camelot. But it was nice to see Ace again, and his rambunctious adoptive family. 

Law was deep asleep, but they didn’t want to wake him. He’d probably get mad at them for it later, but honestly, they didn’t care. He really needed the rest. Currently, he was snuggled securely in Zoro’s chest pocket as a mouse. Lami decided after the first day of making sure her brother didn’t fall off his horse in his sleep that it would be easier if he transformed into something smaller and let them carry him. Law had frowned but hadn’t put up much of a fight- a sure sign that he was exhausted. 

“Shishishi, Ace!” Luffy hollered when they got to the gates, and Zoro cupped a hand over his pocket to help muffle the noise. 

“Luffy, you brat! What took you so long?” Ace called down, grinning from ear to ear. He waved for the guards to let them in, and jumped down on the other side as they made their way through. 

Luffy sprang from his horse and the brothers scuffled for a moment until Ace got Luffy in a headlock and ruffled his hair. “Long time no see, Lu! I can’t believe you came to see me, and it’s because you’re getting _married_!” he laughed uproariously. Clearly, he hadn’t expected that to ever happen- much like the rest of them. 

“Yeah! You should meet hi-!” 

He was cut off abruptly by Nami elbowing him not so gently in the side. “Lami! She’s great! Luffy’s really excited to marry _her,”_ she said pointedly, giving the king a stern look. 

“Oh yeah, Lami’s awesome!” Luffy said, rubbing his ribs and pouting at her. 

Ace looked between the two of them, then at the rest of their party as if searching for answers, and turning back when he found none. “Cool. I take it she’s the one in the veil?” 

Lami waved atop her horse. “That’s me,” she chirped. 

“Alright, well let’s head into the courtyard, yeah? The family wants to meet you.” He jerked his head to indicate that they should follow him, catching up with them on the way. 

Whitebeard’s castle was enormous, from the hallways, to the rooms, to… Well, everything. It had to be to fit Whitebeard in it, who was over six meters tall. It made Franky look like a child by comparison. 

The courtyard was positively teeming with Whitebeard’s family, although Zoro doubted it was all of them. Hell, it probably wasn’t even half of them. Whitebeard was infamous for his adopted children, and the role they played in keeping the kingdom safe. Whitebeard himself sat on a giant stone bench, many of his numerous sons surrounding him. 

“Yo Pop, my kid brother finally made it! Looks like we finally get to meet this mysterious new bride of his,” he said, tossing a curious look over his shoulder at Lami, who remained veiled. 

The hulking king stared down at them impassively. “Well, bring her forward then. Gods know the whole continent is in an uproar at the news. Not every day a king gets married! Look at me and the other four emperors- we all kept to ourselves!” he said, laughing with enough force the ground seemed to shake. 

Lami slid gracefully off her horse and approached him, head held high even though no one could see her face. She looked very regal, despite not actually being royalty yet. Not that Zoro took much stock in the idea that royal blood meant anything- just look at Luffy. But he had to admit, if he had to imagine a queen, Lami would fit the bill right then. She made a perfect curtsy once she deemed herself close enough, and Whitebeard smiled in approval at the sight. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, your majesty,” she said politely. “My name is Lami.” 

He inclined his head slightly to her. “And you as well, my dear. But surely you don’t plan on wearing that veil the whole time you’re here, do you?” he asked with a raised brow. Some of his sons could be seen elbowing each other and digging in their pockets for coins- they must have had a bet going about what Luffy’s bride would look like. 

Zoro wanted to know which ones had bet she’d be ugly, so he could see the shock on their faces when they saw how beautiful she actually was. And she was quite beautiful. Zoro didn’t care for women like that, but he did have eyes. 

“Of course not,” she replied. Then without further ado, she lifted her long veil back from her face, removing the pins from her hair and tossed it over her shoulder. 

Zoro was pleased to see more than a few slack jawed faces handing over their money to their very smug yet equally slack jawed brothers. 

“Well, you are a pretty thing, aren’t you?” Whitebeard said genially. 

“Thank you. I don’t suppose you have anything for me to drink, do you? I’m feeling a bit parched from our travel. I’m sure you can understand why it’s important for a water fairy such as myself to stay properly hydrated,” she said sweetly. 

He boomed out another laugh and gestured for her to follow Thatch for some water. She took Robin by the arm and trailed after him, turning back to call over her shoulder, “Take good care of my brother while I’m gone.” 

The Northerners looked back at them in askance. “Her brother?” 

Ace slapped his forehead. “Oh! Right. The wizard. Hey, where is he?” He looked back over their group again, pointing at each one as if trying to figure out which one of them he’d forgotten was a wizard. 

“Torao is taking a nap,” Luffy said bluntly, pointing over at Zoro. 

Ace squinted his eyes at him, confused. “Is he….hiding behind Zoro or something?” 

“No, he’s sleeping in his pocket.” 

“Your wizard must be awfully small,” Jozu said, looking skeptically at Zoro- who must have already seemed small on his own compared to Jozu’s massive frame. 

Luffy just laughed. “Lami had him turn into a mouse, so he wouldn’t fall off his horse! He’s pretty tall when he’s his usual self. Not as tall as you though! Hey, let’s wake him up now, so he can meet Ace!” 

He bounded over to Zoro, and the knight stuck a hand over his pocket again, turning slightly away from him. “Uh, no offense Luffy, but maybe you shouldn’t be the one to wake him up. Last time you scared him so bad he bit you,” Zoro pointed out. 

Luffy pouted up at him. “Aw, come on! It wasn’t my fault!” 

“You shoved your finger in Sanji’s pocket and poked him pretty hard. If I was Torao I would have bit your finger off,” Nami chimed in. 

“I didn’t mean to poke him that hard! He looked cute!” 

She smacked him in the arm. “You’re supposed to treat cute things gently!” 

While she kept Luffy distracted, Zoro peeked into his pocket and ran a finger along the little blob of black fur in there. Law uncurled, blinking blearily up at him before yawning widely and scrambling onto his proffered hand. Zoro set him carefully on the ground so he could transform, and he could practically feel the curiosity vibrating off of Whitebeard’s family. 

Unfortunately, while the Northerners were all paying close attention to the sleepy mouse on the ground, Luffy was not. Suddenly, he stumbled backwards, foot landing dangerously close to Law’s miniscule form. 

There was a squeak, and some cries of alarm from the Straw Hats, as well as some shoving in Zoro’s case as he attempted to keep his friend from trampling on Law. 

Much more awake then he had been moments ago, Law changed back to his usual self, glaring in full force at Luffy. 

“Straw Hat-ya, how many times do I have to ask you to watch your fucking feet?” he growled. 

Luffy, only mildly chagrined, merely grinned. “Sorry, Torao! Didn’t see you there! Shishishi!” 

Having Law commit regicide right in front of Whitebeard and Ace probably wasn’t a good idea, so Zoro quickly added, “My fault. I should have set you somewhere a little farther away.” 

Apparently, the fairy was too tired to argue about it, thank the gods. He simply glared at Luffy one last time before rubbing his eyes and complaining about it being too bright. The Straw Hats let out a silent breath of relief. Ace was volatile enough about his brother. No need to make him question the marriage with Lami if Law and Luffy started yelling at each other. 

“Where’s Lami?” 

“She went to go get some water with Robin. Said she was thirsty,” Sanji replied. 

Law frowned at that, and Zoro wondered if it was because she left without him or because he was jealous she was getting something to drink. He did get crankier the longer he went without water. 

“Torao, this is my brother Ace!” Luffy said, grabbing him unceremoniously around the waist and dragging him over to his brother. “Ace this is Torao!” 

He was positively beaming, as if having them meet was the highlight of his life. 

Law was still looking extremely put out, subtly trying to extract himself from Luffy’s grip, but it was all for naught. He was way too clingy for Law to succeed without making it super obvious what he was doing. And unlike Luffy, Law did actually seem to have some notion of manners, even if he actively chose to ignore them in Camelot. 

“It’s Law, actually,” he grit out, staring Ace right in the eye, daring him to challenge him on it. 

“Nice to meet you,” Ace said, expertly avoiding it. He looked Law up and down surreptitiously, then shrugged. “So you’re the wizard that saved our asses last time, huh?” 

He was referring to the final battle, where Ace, Luffy, and Jinbei had nearly died. They hadn’t really gotten the chance to meet before since Ace showed up last minute, and then proceeded to almost get himself killed. If Ace remembered Law at all, it would have been as an ancient old man, and not his current self. 

“I’m a fairy, not a wizard,” Law corrected with a frown. There were a couple titters from the Northerners at his short reply, but honestly, this was pretty civil behavior for Law, so the Straw Hats didn’t interfere. 

Ace seemed to like it anyway, cracking a smile and laughing loudly. “Alright, fairy it is. So, I guess we’re going to be in-laws!” He clapped a friendly hand on Law’s back, ignoring the suffering look that came across his face. 

“Shishishi- wait til you meet Sabo, Torao! We’re going to have so much fun!” 

“Yippee,” he said dryly. 

Ace and Luffy continued to laugh and poke fun at him, so Zoro considered the trip a success. Turned out that Ace didn’t mind having a grumpy brother-in-law. Although he didn’t yet know that Law was actually going to be the one marrying his little brother, but they’d have to clear that up later. They didn’t want to go telling Whitebeard’s whole court the secret after all- they didn’t know them _that_ well. But Ace deserved to know at the very least. 

Luffy started talking about how they all ought to play Black Bird together, and it became abundantly clear that Law had never heard of it in his entire life. This only spurred Luffy to try and convince him that they had to play, regardless of it being a children’s game, and the fact that Law had no interest in it whatsoever. 

They were still arguing about it when Whitebeard’s heir showed up from wherever he’d been. 

And then of course, all hell broke loose. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's quite possible there will be another chapter coming in the next week or so. I had a very large portion of one written out that was meant to be attached to this one, but then I uh didn't attach it lmao. It was getting real long.


	5. The Phoenix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ayoooo guess who kept their word and updated this fic only a week later holla~!

Emperor Whitebeard seemed alright. Not that Law had been formally introduced to him or anything, but he’d been watching Luffy and Ace harass him while he looked on in amusement, so that was….something. His adoptive sons were much the same, although a lot of them were looking at him with blatant curiosity. 

Why that was, he didn’t know. And frankly, he wasn’t sure he cared to learn. 

He was fucking exhausted though. The short nap in Zoro’s pocket hadn’t been enough. He’d tried to sleep more- he really had. But even though he was bone weary, he just hadn’t been able to shut his brain off completely for the majority of the journey. Insomnia certainly wasn’t new to him, but it was a lot harder to keep his energy up when he and Lami were so far from the lake. 

Even standing up straight took effort, much to his annoyance. He located his horse and slipped out of Luffy’s clutches for a moment to grab his staff from the saddle. 

The cool wood against his hands and the already familiar thrum of magic beneath his fingertips soothed him, taking some of the weariness from his shoulders. If only he could go back to those woods to recuperate. Then maybe he wouldn’t feel so dead on his feet. 

Although it had been mere moments, Luffy must have decided that Law wasn’t paying him enough attention and pulled him back towards his brother as he began a long rambling explanation of why they needed to all play some dumb children’s game. 

It was a mystery why the young king thought Law would agree to playing. He may have lost his memories, but he highly doubted that his past self would have encouraged such behavior. 

Luckily for him, they were interrupted. 

“Marco! Come greet the upstart brat from Camelot and his wizard!” Whitebeard bellowed to someone over his massive shoulder, ignoring Law’s mumbled complaint that he was a fairy and not a wizard. Luffy snickered, and didn’t bother to look the slightest bit abashed by Law’s glare. 

His attention was soon diverted however by the arrival of Whitebeard’s heir, crown prince of his many, many sons. After seeing the great variety of the man’s children, he didn’t really know what he expected. Whatever it may have been, he certainly didn’t expect to see someone so viscerally and uncomfortably familiar. It may have been a long time since he’d last seen that unmistakable blond mop, but he’d never forgotten the man, and apparently, he’d never forgotten Law. 

As soon as they met eyes, Marco’s casual posture disappeared into one of rigid vigilance. Law couldn’t help but bristle as well, thinking that this whole trip was a very bad idea. 

The rest of Whitebeard’s ilk tensed, clearly trusting that their crown prince wouldn’t react if nothing was wrong. Clearly, he thought Law was a threat. Which he may have been in the past, but it wasn’t like he was going to start anything right now with Luffy’s potential allies- namely, the older brother that he adored. They were supposed to be here to assure the man that his little brother was in safe hands, and he was not going to ruin it if he could help it. Although, Marco might just do it for him instead. 

“Phoenix,” he said stonily, trying to calm his suddenly racing heart. Having a hoard of able-bodied men poised to attack him did nothing for his nerves. 

“ _Heartrender_ ,” Marco replied icily. It took everything in him not to flinch at the name, but he succeeded with merely tightening his grip on his staff instead. Perhaps it had been foolish to hope that no one would ever call him that again, but he had done it anyway. Stupid for him to do so, given the long life spans of the fay, and of course Marco would still be around. That’s what phoenixes did- they continued, even when nothing else did. How many life cycles had Marco completed since they last met? He looked the same as he ever did, but that meant little. 

The knights of Camelot all peered warily around. They didn’t understand what the hell was happening- he doubted anyone did besides the phoenix and himself- but were trying to figure out their next move. The only ones who seemed unaffected were Whitebeard and Luffy. Although the latter didn’t look particularly happy, even if he wasn’t on his guard. 

“Luffy, I think you should take a step away from your wizard,” Ace said. He didn’t take his eyes off Law as he spoke, but his voice was edged with warning. He’d been perfectly fine with Law a minute ago, but just as the rest of his brothers, he trusted Marco’s judgement. The crown prince was normally an easy going man- for him to be so openly hostile was a bad sign. And he was not going to let his little brother get tangled up in it. 

His desires had little effect on Luffy however, who stubbornly planted his feet and refused to move. “No! I wanna stand by Torao,” he said resolutely in a way that made Ace want to clutch his hair and scream. 

Before he could try to march over and snatch his brother from the wizard’s side, Marco began to speak again. 

“So, you were the one to snare the crown? And I suppose you’re responsible for the barrier around Camelot as well. I should have figured that an Unseelie rat was behind all this,” he sneered. Blue tinged flames started to crawl along his shoulders as a rare sign that he was losing his temper. Whitebeard’s sons tensed further, and the Straw Hats reached for their weapons. 

Law forced himself to remain calm. Getting angry wouldn’t help the situation, and he didn’t want to start any unnecessary conflict. This meeting was for the good of Camelot, and he didn’t want to fail. 

Still, when Marco glared at him like that, it was hard to ignore the pure hatred in his eyes. “I am no more Unseelie than you are Seelie, Phoenix. Unless you’ve conveniently forgotten that the courts no longer exist,” he couldn’t help but add. 

The flames along his shoulders spread down his back, and something dark flitted in his expression before he reined it back. “I have not forgotten. Nor will I forget the atrocities that you committed or the blood that stains your hands. You may have tricked Camelot into believing that you’re there to help, but I know better.” 

“Your hands aren’t so clean yourself,” he snapped. “Don’t go pretending like the Seelie Court was some safe haven for everyone, or that you never partook in their cruelty.” 

Law had been to the Seelie Court a number of times before its demise, and while they had pretended to uphold themselves to a higher standard, he knew that they weren’t much better than their Unseelie counterparts- if at all. Both courts’ callous behavior played a large part in their downfall. Among other things. 

An angry flush made its way across Marco’s face. “Say what you will about the Seelie Court, but we never stooped to your level. Even the rest of the Unseelie were mistrustful of your feathered court. They feared and despised your lot- how could they not? Your King would raise his pinky and you would flock to do his bidding, causing as much carnage as possible. You must have felt so proud to serve that monster,” he seethed. 

Something ugly reared its head in Law’s chest, and he had to fight to keep it in check. 

“ _Watch your tongue,_ Phoenix. I don’t care how many lives you’ve lived or how many deaths you’ve endured. No matter what you say, you will _never_ have to know what it’s like to give anything you can just for the _possibility_ of survival.” 

And he meant it. No matter what happened to Marco, he would never have to fear a permanent death. He would simply be reborn, unlike everyone else on this godsforsaken earth. He may have lived through the Great Cleanse, may have lived through the fairy hunts that took so many of their kind, may even have died during them, but he would always return. He would never know what it was like to wonder which breath would be his last, or how it would take him. 

Marco’s arms burst into flame and a wild light flashed behind his eyes, making even his brothers look at him warily. “Do not patronize me, Heartrender. Whatever your scheme is, it stops here. I will do everything in my power to keep you from taking the crown for your own,” he vowed. 

_“I don’t want a fucking crown_ ,” Law hissed. “You think if I did I’d bother leaving Camelot at all? I’d rather stay in my lake for another hundred years than go gallivanting across the kingdom just to be insulted by you!” 

“Ah, yes, your lake,” Marco scoffed, obviously not buying it. “I heard tales of the Lady of the Lake over the centuries, always wondering who it could be. I assumed, like everyone else, that it was someone new. Someone who had managed to stay out of the Courts but out of the human’s way as well. I heard that she was ghostly. Little more than a specter. I suppose that must be your sister then? Did you change her looks so no one would suspect? Perhaps the Drowning Dove looks more like her name implies now,” he said harshly, not knowing how deep it cut Law. “But even if she’s here, I will take you both down. I will rid the world of your ilk, _if it’s the last thing I do_.” 

The sky darkened, thunderclouds rolling overhead. The Northerners looked around cautiously, not used to the weather changing so abruptly without notice. The Straw Hats however, knew exactly what was happening and looked nervously at Law. Who didn’t notice them at all. 

White hot anger crept beneath his skin, and unbeknownst to him, his eyes began to glow menacingly with unshed magic. “ _You will never harm a hair on her head_ ,” he promised, voice low. 

“Is that a threat?” Marco asked, taking a step towards him. In the same breath, Ace reached forward and grabbed Luffy, slapping a hand over his mouth to hush his loud protests. The rest of the Northerners closed in, and the Straw Hats tried to figure out how to recover from the rapidly declining predicament they were in. 

Law didn’t answer, so Marco continued. “It makes sense you’re back. All the termites are crawling out from the woodwork now. I should have known when they started saying that infernal name- _Merlin_. You just couldn’t help yourself, could you?” 

_“I didn’t choose the name_!” 

“ _And yet it was given to you anyway!_ ” Marco snarled back. “Because of you Unseelie scum and your greed, the entire country was upended! If not for the likes of you and your ilk, then our kind wouldn’t have had to spend centuries hiding in fear for our lives!” 

Okay, enough was fucking enough. He was getting real sick of Marco’s shit. He knew he was supposed to be currying favor from Luffy’s brother, but damn it all if Phoenix got on his fucking nerves thinking he and the Seelie were all pure of heart or some other bullshit. 

“Oh, you know what, Phoenix- you can’t go blaming the entire fall of the courts on everyone else forever! So why don’t you take your holier than thou attitude and shove it right up your a-!” 

“What in the world is going on here?” 

It was that timely moment that Lami reappeared with Robin, and the two of them took in the strained atmosphere with surprising grace. They must have noticed it far before they reached their friends, but it was only when she saw Marco that understanding hit her in a wave. 

“Oh, it’s you,” she said indifferently, moving forward to pat her brother’s shoulder in mock consolation. “There, there, just close your eyes and pretend he’s not there.” 

Marco, in turn, took her appearance with much more surprise, the flames that had sprouted up along his body disappearing. 

He wasn’t lying when he told Law what he’d heard about the Lady of the Lake. He’d just never taken much stock in it. After all, humans often exaggerated things- particularly when it came to the fay. When people said the Lady of the Lake looked like a wraith, he thought they were being dramatic. Seeing her in front of him, he decided he hadn’t given them enough credit. 

All the color looked as though it had been bleached out of her. Her skin and her hair were pure white, so pale and unearthly that she looked like she was carved from marble. He’d think she were a statue enchanted to life if not for her eyes. They were almost all white as well, save for her pupils, and the silvery sheen of her irises that sent shivers down his spine. 

She didn’t look alive. 

But she clearly was, and that got Marco’s curiosity even more than finding out what their damned court was up to. 

His attention was thrown back into focus when Robin spoke up. “You three…are familiar with each other?” She gave them all an appraising look, trying to piece things together on her own despite the fact that she had missed most of Marco and Law’s confrontation. 

Lami’s nose scrunched up in distaste. “Ugh. Don’t say it like that. We barely knew him. We just, you know, saw him every once in a while in passing. I don’t think anything of import happened when he was around.” 

The look on his face was one of absolute offense. “What? We spent multiple campaigns on the battlefield both with and against each other!” he sputtered. 

“Like I said, nothing of import.” 

“I saw you every fucking year for at least one equinox and one solstice celebration!” 

“Oh, were you there? I guess it was easy to forget about you when you spent the entire time beneath Titania’s feet.” 

His face grew dark again. “Don’t speak of her so casually, Unseelie,” he said through gritted teeth. Despite his rather ungentlemanly behavior, the others couldn’t help but notice he was still more polite to her than he was to Law, even though she was being ruder to him than her brother had started off. 

She merely rolled her eyes and leaned against Law. “Oh please, what’s she going to do? Pop out of her grave and sentence me to death? Whatever shall I do?” She swooned dramatically, sagging further against him, and he let out a fond but exasperated huff. The sky cleared back to sunny blue. 

“Do not speak of my queen that way.” Marco’s fists clenched at his sides, sizzling slightly. 

“Your queen? Why, does Whitebeard have a wife after all? And here I was under the impression that he was unmarried. Unless of course, he’s not your king. Although I would find that very odd, considering you’re the crown prince.” She pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Actually, you know what? You being crown prince of anything is odd all on its own. I just figured that no matter how long you lived, you would continue letting royalty step all over you.” 

Marco’s entire torso lit up this time, arms transforming into fiery wings as he glared at her, teeth bared in a snarl. His brothers had started to relax slightly after Lami arrived and distracted him and Law from fighting, but now their wariness was back in full force. 

“Whoa! Hey, uh, Lami, no offense, but maybe you and Law could tone it down a bit? We really didn’t come here to fight, and this is, uh, going _really_ poorly,” Usopp said, throwing his arms up in a gesture of goodwill. She sure wasn’t being nearly as sweet or polite as she had been earlier when being introduced to Whitebeard. 

She pushed herself off Law and gave Usopp a long suffering look. “How come this is our fault? Look, if he wants to be a big baby and whine about stuff that happened five hundred years ago-” 

“I think he’s getting pissed about stuff happening right now!” Usopp’s voice kept climbing higher. 

“-then that’s his problem. But if he really wants to start a fight over it, then fine! You guys can stand back while Law and I kick their asses, and when we’re finished, then maybe we can finally go back to Camelot and get this wedding over with.” 

There was a lot of complaining on the Northerners’ side about how they wouldn’t be the ones losing, many of them becoming actually offended instead of just wary on behalf of Marco. Ace however, was the one who took real issue with the end of her statement. “What makes you think I’m letting you marry my little brother after all this?” 

She whipped her head to him, glaring at the way he still held tight to a squirming Luffy. “Oh? I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were in charge of all your brother’s decisions. If his wellbeing is so important to you, then maybe you shouldn’t spend all your time a whole kingdom away where he barely ever sees you!” 

It seemed like Lami was intent on fighting with all of Whitebeard’s sons today, but now that Law had calmed down, he wasn’t so eager to go around trying to start a war. 

He sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Alright, I think that’s enough. We really didn’t come here to fight, and I’m getting sick of this. If it means that much to you, we can just call the whole wedding off and figure something else out to keep other countries from pushing for marital alliances-” 

“NO!” Luffy yelled, the same time as Ace yelped, “Dammit, Lu! No biting!” 

Luffy elbowed his brother hard in the stomach while he was busy shaking out his hand, making him wheeze for breath as Luffy shoved his way between the Trafalgars and Marco. “We’re not stopping the wedding just because you’re a jerk that doesn’t like Law and Lami!” he said, scowling furiously at the phoenix. Then he turned to Law, hands on his hips, and scowled at him too. “And stop trying to worm out of it!” 

Law threw his hands up and groaned. “Why are you blaming me? And I still don’t understand why you’re so deadset on this wedding anyway- any of you! Clearly, I must have missed something in the past two years that the lot of you refuse to tell me about. And if this marriage is so damn important to you, then why don’t you just explain things to your brother, so we don’t have to deal with all this!” 

“Um, maybe we should talk more in private,” Sanji said, giving Ace a meaningful look. 

He narrowed his eyes at him, still rubbing his hand that bore marks from Luffy’s teeth. “Maybe we should. Pops…” 

“Whatever you need to say to our brother, you can say to us too!” someone called out, a chorus of agreement ringing through the courtyard. This prompted some arguing on Ace’s part, as well as the Straw Hats, and the whole courtyard seemed to be uproar over the matter. 

During all the commotion, a messenger slipped in, awkwardly waiting to grab someone’s attention. It was Robin that noticed him, giving the poor man an excuse to deliver his note and hightail it out of there. 

“He said it was for Merlin,” she said, handing it to Law with a hint of concern. 

Well, that was weird. Word must have traveled fast that he and the Straw Hats were on their way to Whitebeard for the letter to arrive the same time as they did. He inspected it offhandedly, not seeing anything of note about it. There was nothing special about the rolled parchment from what he could see, and no magic attached to it. 

He leaned his staff in the crook of his arm and unrolled it, blanching at the contents inside. 

“Lami,” he called, but she didn’t hear him. He tried again, a little louder, and still she continued to argue with the Northerners. It wasn’t until the third and final time that she finally turned from them to see what was wrong, hearing the panic in his voice. 

“Law? What is it?” 

His hands trembled, and he struggled to keep his breathing steady, even as his eyes went blurry with fatigue. “Tell me that I’m too tired, and that I’m just seeing things,” he nearly begged. 

She strode over and snatched the parchment from his hands, along with the feather that had been tucked inside it. For a harrowing moment she did nothing but stare at the offending items while Law sagged against his staff and put a hand over his eyes, trying to calm his mind. 

She peered carefully over the paper at him, and said sternly, “You’re too tired, and you’re just seeing things.” Then she held up the feather in her other hand, so he could see it again, the pale gray catching the light before fading to black at its tip. “It’s just a pigeon feather, Law,” she said softer. “It must have gotten caught in the parchment when they were rolling it up.” 

He released a shaky breath and nodded. Of course. A pigeon feather. He was just imagining the worst because things had gone so wrong, and he hadn’t gotten enough sleep lately. That was all. 

“Why don’t you get some rest? We’ll sort everything out, okay? I promise I won’t go starting any wars in the meantime, so take a break.” She reached up to cup the side of his face, and he leaned into it for a moment before nodding again. Words were too much for him right now. He just wanted to rest. 

With a little more coaxing from Lami, he transformed back into a mouse, letting her scoop him up into her palm as she sang softly to him. 

He went out like a light. 

Once he was well and truly asleep, she turned back to the now silent courtyard. Disregarding their inquisitive stares, she marched up to Zoro, who held open his pocket without prompting, so she could deposit Law in it carefully. 

“What’s the letter?” he asked gruffly. 

She held it up so he could see, although there didn’t seem to be anything special about it. It simply read: Welcome back. 

They looked at her in confusion, not understanding why something so innocuous had sent Law into near hysterics. She ignored them, choosing to glare at the other object in her hand instead. She shook the feather, the gray and black of it disappearing as she withdrew the illusion she’d cast over it. She sucked at the small drop of blood that had welled at the tip of her thumb when she’d used the sharp end of the quill to puncture skin. 

It was fortunate that Law was so tired that he was willing to accept that he was merely going out of his mind with fatigue, and therefore was unlikely to catch on to her deception. 

But they had worked too hard for her to watch it all crumble away with his resolve. She wouldn’t let them be dragged back into their old life, and she would do anything to keep him safe. She knew that Law felt the same for her, but she also knew how hard it was for him to move on. There were things that Law had to get past that she didn’t, and all she could do was offer her support as he struggled with himself. 

The vibrant pink feather seemed to glare back at her, mocking her with its mere existence. 

She clenched her jaw, the parchment and feather both freezing over before she cast them to the ground, shattering them into a thousand tiny pieces. 

She whirled on the rest of them, glaring in warning at the lot of them to keep from interrupting. “You will _not_ tell him about what you’ve seen. That message was from an anonymous sender of no import, and that feather was from a pigeon. It was _not_ pink. If you ever try and tell him that it was, I will personally make your life a living hell until you wish that I’d been merciful and let you die instead. _Do you understand?”_

Taking a look at her glowing eyes, the rumbling sky overhead, and noting that it had gotten about ten degrees colder, they decided not to press their luck. Even the Northerners nodded along, not willing to test their skills against her for the moment. If there was one thing they understood, it was protecting their family. 

Marco’s teeth ground together with the force which he clenched them, but he acquiesced with a slight nod as well when she stared him down. He wasn’t sure all that was at play yet, but he would find out eventually. 

She let out a harsh breath. “You, we need to speak to in private,” she pointed at Ace. “You can bring nine other people with you- I don’t care who, but that’s all. And nothing we say in there is to be shared with anyone else without our express permission.” 

Ordinarily, it would be a grave offense to order around royalty like she was. But ordinarily, they did not have furious water fairies on their doorstep threatening them with physical violence. 

Ace took Whitebeard, Marco, Jozu, Thatch, Izo, and Vista. The rest of them didn’t even bother complaining that he didn’t take a full ten with him. Some of them seemed like they might protest, but Whitebeard silenced them with a look, and the matter was settled. 

The emperor had watched everything silently, choosing to wait and see what everyone did before making any moves himself. Marco clearly didn’t like the wizard or the bride, who had gone from pretty and polite to downright ruthless at a moment’s notice, but Marco was perfectly capable of holding grudges for longer than he needed to. There was history between them, that was sure, but Marco had history with countless people. A side affect of living so long. 

And it sounded like it had been quite some time since they’d last seen each other, so who knows. Maybe things had changed. He wondered if Marco would act the same if he was further along in his current life cycle. In his older stages, Marco was more willing to forgive past wrongs. The younger he was, the less likely he was to do so. 

Whitebeard would make his own decisions however, and Marco couldn’t make him change his mind. Some things he had to decide for himself, without relying on his sons’ input. 

They led the Straw Hats to a secluded room, and let them explain what they needed to there. 

* * *

“Wait, okay, just hold on a second,” Ace said, clutching his head. “So let me get this straight- Luffy is marrying Lami, only it’s not actually going to be Lami, it’s going to be Law?” 

“Yep,” Sanji said. 

“And this is because _you_ want to marry Law.” He looked imploringly at his little brother, who smiled widely and loudly proclaimed this to be correct. 

Nami shushed him, glancing over to check that Zoro was still keeping his pocket covered to help keep the noise down. “Luffy quiet down!” she hissed, “What if he wakes up and hears you?!” 

“What’s the problem with that? He already knows we’re getting married,” he pouted but kept his voice down all the same. 

Robin reached over to rub a soothing hand over his shoulders. “Yes, but he believes it’s merely for political safety measures, remember? It took quite some convincing to get him to agree to even that, so we have to be careful with what we say about the matter to him. If he discovers the truth, I think he might very well call off the wedding for good.” 

That sobered him up enough to stop complaining about it. 

Ace slouched down into his seat so far that his head touched the backrest and he stared at the ceiling. “Lu, can you at least explain to me why it’s so important that you marry your cranky wizard?” 

“We’re meant to be together,” he said as if it was the simplest thing in the world. 

Ace groaned and sank down even further. What he’d done to deserve a brother like Luffy he had no idea, but he was beginning to wonder if he would survive the ordeal. Of course, his little brother would decide out of nowhere to get married, and of course, it would be to someone that his family took issue with. Granted, it was really just Marco, but he was usually a pretty good judge of character. But then again, so were the Straw Hats, and they were more than willing to defend their friends to him. 

Gods, he wished Sabo was here to help. Although he’d heard that Sabo already accepted his invitation without doing any vetting on Luffy’s bride whatsoever, so maybe it wouldn’t have made a difference if he was there anyway. 

“Is there any way I can talk you out of this?” he asked, already knowing full well what the answer was. 

“Nope.” 

He sighed. “Okay. Fine. I figured. It’s not like I can really stop you if you’re set on this. But for the record, I’m still unsure about all this,” he said gesturing vaguely in their direction. 

“You can’t be serious,” Marco seethed, “Do you want your brother’s kingdom to fall to ruin? Do you want the rest of the surrounding empires to follow in its footsteps?” 

Ace looked helplessly up at him. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on between you and those two, but there’s no changing Lu’s mind when he’s like this. And have a little faith in him and his knights, will you? They’re not completely helpless. Besides, Law helped him win his kingdom- that’s got to count for something, right?” 

He didn’t look convinced in the slightest. “If you allow this, they will tear the entire continent apart!” 

Lami had been freezing and unfreezing her glass of water for the past fifteen minutes as the discussion had proceeded, but she took a great swallow and slammed it onto the table at the last part. “You seem to have a lot of opinions about what Law and I are doing in our free time. I doubt you’d ever take my word for it, but I assure the rest of you that neither of us has any intentions of tearing any country apart. We would very much like to be left alone, in fact. We only left the lake because the Straw Hats are our friends, and it was important to us to meet the person who pulled Excalibur from its stone.” 

“And what’s the purpose of this sword of yours then?” Marco asked, eyeing the scabbard on Luffy’s hip distrustfully. “Don’t pretend like it’s nothing. I can feel its wrongness from here.” 

“None of your business,” she said icily. 

Ace sat up to grab Marco’s arm before he could storm over to the other side of the table- for all the good it did. Marco merely yelled across the table instead. “It’s my business if whatever your planning affects my home! I’m not going to just stand by and watch as you and your blasted court and ruin everything again!” 

She jumped out of her seat, chair skittering back as she glared at him. “We didn’t ruin anything- you all did that yourselves! Just because we didn’t want to be beholden to the greater courts, doesn’t mean that we were trying to tear you all apart! Honestly, if you’re going to be mad about the war happening, then you should at least hold your own court accountable for what they did. It’s not like Mab and the Unseelie were the only ones stirring up trouble. You and the rest of the Seelie were calling for blood just as much as anyone else.” 

“ _You murdered our high king_!” he roared, slamming a fist on the table and causing everyone to shrink back. 

“You killed ours first!” she snapped. “And what’s more, you had the nerve to pretend as though you lot took no part in it! Tell me, how was Mab supposed to act after you slaughtered her husband and daughters? Or are you really going to try and tell me that the deaths of two children were justified?” 

He flushed bright red, hands curling into fists as he leaned over the table, but something akin to shame crept over his features. “It was not- Queen Titania and King Oberon had nothing to do with that. They did not condone such a wretched act.” 

She snorted, crossing her arms and glaring harder. “Maybe not officially. Say all you want about the virtues of your high king and queen, but you can’t honestly expect me to believe that they actually felt sorry for what happened. You spent years by their side- surely you’re not so blinded by your service to them that you couldn’t tell when they were being sincere or not.” 

There was a tense moment of silence, Lami stubbornly challenging him to refute what she’d said, Marco struggling to find his words, and the rest of them wondering what the hell kind of argument they’d stepped into. 

Eventually, Marco put himself together enough to reply, “Queen Titania and King Oberon were not perfect, but they had their reasons for their behavior. They were bound to serve and protect their people.” 

“Their people,” she scoffed. “As if they couldn’t pick and choose who their people were.” 

He leaned back, a pinch forming between his brows. “I wouldn’t expect _you_ to understand. Your king had no sense of duty or responsibility to his court. It would be a fool’s errand to try and explain to one of you what it means to devote oneself to a good cause,” he said, lips pulling back in a sneer. 

“Don’t lecture me on devotion, Phoenix- you barely know the meaning of the word,” she hissed. The air grew frigid in the room, their breath coming out in puffs of fog. 

“You want to talk about devotion? Fine. Let me tell you that for all my court’s faults, lack of devotion was not one of them. No one would ever dare to say that we lacked in loyalty to our king or each other. Isn’t that what you all mocked us for? That we were just wild dogs he barely kept leashed, eager to do his bidding?” 

Her silver eyes pierced his, but he kept his mouth clamped shut. 

“Yes, my king was terrible and cruel when he wanted to be. And what do you think made him that way? I’m sure being so close to the high king and queen of the Seelie that you would have heard the rumors. You would have heard of the horrors his family faced when they left the courts, the way his parents struggled to protect them, only to die before the year was out. Did your precious courts come to their aid when they begged for it? Or when he and his brother were left on their own, facing a hostile world alone without any help?” 

He worked through a tick in his jaw before answering. “Their parents renounced their claim to the throne, as well as their place in the courts. To take their sons in and harbor them would have shown favoritism after their parents publicly abandoned the crown. I’m not saying it was right, but I’m sure they would have no other reason to leave children on their own-” 

Cold laughter cut him off as she looked at him with mock pity. “No reason to leave children on their own? How do you think Law and I ended up with him anyway?” 

He glanced over at Zoro for a second, eyes darting to the hand that still sheltered his pocket. “I would not assume…” 

“Assume all you want,” she snapped. “We ended up with him because we knew he was our best chance of survival. The rest of the courts would have avoided us like the plague, but we knew that if we proved ourselves to him, we would be safe.” 

“Proved yourselves by becoming monsters you mean,” he said with distaste. “Pitting children against adults like some sort of sick game, just to earn a place in his court.” 

Despite being a mere five foot and three inches, she cut a very imposing figure when she wished to. It should not have been so intimidating to have her stare someone down that was almost a foot and a half taller than her, yet it was. Ace and Izo, who sat on either side of Marco, leaned subtly away. 

She looked coolly at him, features impassive yet radiating disdain. “No one was allowed to touch them until they reached adulthood. Those were the rules. Anyone who attempted it before then faced the fury of the fully fledged members of the court. And maybe it does seem unfair to you. From what I heard, you were with Titania and Oberon from the minute they took their spots on the throne. Maybe you earned it through friendship or ‘devotion’. Maybe you were raised to believe that that’s how the world is supposed to work, and that good things would always come your way. 

“When I was a child, I learned the world was a cruel, harsh place, and that no matter how good you are, terrible things will still come your way. I had to learn that lesson the hard way. Becoming a part of my court took grim work and determination, but once you were in, you were in for life, and _nobody_ could mess with you. 

“My king was a vicious man, but he was loyal to us. I never had to do anything I truly did not wish to, nor did I ever have to worry about my safety or wellbeing, or where my next meal would come from for all my days in his service.” 

He slowly lowered back into his chair, refusing to break eye contact. “You could have tried to seek shelter from the Seelie,” he said quietly. “If not from the high queen and king, then one of the others. Surely, someone in all the Seelie courts would have been willing to help.” 

Taking a steadying breath, she summoned her chair back to her and took a seat as well. “They probably would have. But it was not just shelter that Law and I sought. Our…condition required a very specific type of fairy to help us,” she said with a meaningful look. 

“Ah,” he said, grimacing at what should have been obvious to him. 

Slowly, the room warmed up, and the tension that was so suffocating moments before died out. Marco and Lami each took tentative sips from their glasses and relaxed back in their seats, seemingly finished with their argument. 

Ace looked between them, bafflement written all over his face. “Okay, what the fuck? Are you guys done? Just like that? Don’t get me wrong- I’m glad you two aren’t at each other’s throats anymore,” he said hastily at the glares some of the others threw his way. “I just don’t get what’s happening right now.” 

That was fair enough. Nobody seemed to understand what was going on besides Lami and Marco. But if that was the price they had to pay for the two of them to stop fighting, then the rest of them weren’t going to complain about it. 

“I still don’t trust you,” Marco said, completely ignoring Ace. 

“You don’t have to,” Lami replied. “But the wedding is going through with or without your approval. Unless Luffy changes his mind.” She turned in her seat to address the king while he leaned against the wall, and he beamed at her. 

“Nope!” He hopped forward to peer over Zoro’s shoulder into his pocket, smile turning somewhat softer. 

She nodded and turned back around. “There you go.” Her shoulders sagged a bit, the events of the day finally catching up to her. “I cannot convince you with words alone that my brother and I have no malicious intentions when it comes to Camelot or its throne. But if you’d like, you and _some_ of your brothers are welcome to come with us when we return. You can stay as long as you like, and determine for yourselves whether or not we truly pose any threat.” 

He raised an eyebrow at that. “You have the authority to offer that?” 

A smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. “Don’t you know? I’m about to become queen.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> boy there's a lot of dialogue in this chapter. a lot of arguing lol. lotsa loooong talks abt shit that no one else knows abt hahahaha. Someday it will be explained, but today is not that day, nor any day in the near future
> 
> there was like a hot second where i tried to research royals in one piece that i could use for the long gone fairy kings and queens before i decided that it wasn't going to work out real well for me, so instead they're mostly named after characters from shakespeare lol
> 
> heartrender is such a cool name, i ripped it from the grishaverse. tbh tho i don't care much for the grishaverse tho lmao. I LOVE six of crows/crooked kingdom, but the original trilogy is just kind of meh to me. in fairness, i only read the first book, so maybe it gets way better lol. not that it was bad per se, but it was kind of cookie cutter and boring to me. but yeah heartrender is such a cool term, love that, and they're super cool. funny enough tho the heartrender in SoC was one of my least fav characters lol. that and her witch hunter boyfriend. the 2 characters i thought i would love the most ended up being the ones i couldn't stand lmao. my apologies to anyone who loves nina and matthias
> 
> don't expect another update this soon lol- i still have lots of other fics to take care of, and i'm like _this close_ to starting up a new one because apparently my love for pynch can't be contained to merely reading fanfics and my heathen brain has decided that i must also write them now too. wish me luck.


End file.
